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PIONEER 
CATHOLIC HISTORY 

OF OREGON 



BY 

EDWIN V. O'HARA 







Book 



Copyright N^. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSITS 



Pioneer Catholic 
History of Oregon 



BY 

EDWIN V. O'HARA 

(I 



PORTLAND, OREGON 

1911 



rS2o 



Nihil Obstat, 

A. Hilhbrchid, 

(fensdr Librorutn 

Imfofi??taiur, 

>b A. Christie, 

Archbishop of Oregon. 




Copyright, 1911 

By Edwin V. O'Hara 

Portland. Oregon 



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Glass a Pruohomme Company 

Portland, Oregon 



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PREFACE 



This little book, the product of spare mo- 
ments, has been written to help make better 
known the story of those Catholic pioneers of 
the Oregon Countr}- whose names even now 
seem to be borne down to us from a distant 
heroic past. Blanchet, DeSmet and McLough- 
lin are the names of heroes. No prouder names 
are inscribed on the honor roll of pioneer mis- 
sionaries and empire builders of the Western 
hemisphere. No effort has been made in these 
pages to pronounce a eulogy upon them ; their 
best eulogy is a simple narrative of their lives 
and deeds. 

The manuscript Memoirs of Most Ecu. F. X. 
Blanchet, by Major Mallet and the large collec- 
tion of Letters and Documents in the Arch- 
diocesan Archives in Portland, have yielded 
much material here published for the first time. 
Other collections of Oregoniana which the writer 
has searched for items of Catholic interest are, 
the Bancroft Collection at the University of 
California; Major Mallet's Collection (L'Union 
St. Jean-Baptiste d'Amerique, Woonsocket, R. 
I.) ; the Congressional Library, Washington, D. 
C. ; the Shea Collection (Georgetown College 



VI PREFACE 

Library), Washington, D. C. ; the collection of 
the Oregon Historical Society, Portland ; the 
Oregon History section of the Portland Public 
Library, and the splendid private collections of 
rare Orcgonlana of ]\Ir. Frederick V. Holman, 
President of the Oregon Historical Society, and 
of Mr. Clarence B. Bagley of Seattle. The 
writer is indebted to Mr. Clinton A. Snowden, 
of Tacoma, author of The History of Washing- 
ton, and to Mr. John O'Hara, editor of the 
Catholic Sentinel, for revising proofs and mak- 
ing many valuable suggestions. Several chap- 
ters are reprinted, with permission, from the 
pages of the Catholic University Bulletin, the 
Catholic World, and the Oregon Historical 
Quarterly. 

Full titles of works referred to in the text 
w^ill be found in the bibliography. 

Portland, Oregon, Sept. 6, 1911. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I 

m'LOUGHLIN at fort VANCOUVER 

Period of Joint Occupancy. — Early Years of Mc- 
Loughlin. — McLoughlin Becomes Chief Factor. — Re- 
lations with the Indians. — Hospitality at Fort Van- 
couver Pages 1-8 

CHAPTER II 

THE MISSIONARIES 

Arrival of the Protestant Missionaries. — McLough- 
lin's Kindness to the Methodists.— "The Great Rein- 
forcement." — Vicar General Blanchet Arrives. — Con- 
version of McLoughlin Pages 9-16 

CHAPTER III 

THE FUTURE ARCHBISHOP OF OREGON 

The Blanchet Family.— The Brothers at School. — 
The Acadian Mission. — Schooled for an Arduous Apos- 
tolate. — Celebrating the Feast of St. Ann. — Life at 
Village of Cedars Pages 17-24 

CHAPTER IV 

THE OREGON MISSION 

Opening the Western Fur-Lands. — Bishop Proven- 
Cher at St. Boniface.— The Willamette Settlement 
Requests Missionaries. — Mission Encouraged North of 
the Columbia. — Missionaries Appointed for Oregon. — 
From Montreal to Fort Vancouver. — First Mass at 
Fort Vancouver Pages 25-34 



Vlll CONTENTS 

CHAPTER V 

LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS 

An Extended Mission. — The Cowlitz Settlement Vis- 
ited. — The First House of Worship in Oregon. — The 
Catholic Ladder. — Father Demers at Fort Nesqually. 
— Antagonism Between Rival Missionaries. — Mission 
Permitted South of the Columbia. — Astoria and Whid- 
bey Island Pages 35-44 

CHAPTER VI 

THE AMERICAN IMMIGRATION 

The Outlook in 1842. — American Immigration Be- 
gins. — Indian Massacre Averted. — McLoughlin Pro- 
vides Seed Wheat. — The Immigrants of 1844 Receive 
Aid. — Provisions Furnished to 3,000 Immigrants in 
1845. — Two Important Considerations. — McLoughlin's 
Resignation Pages 45-57 

CHAPTER VII 

THE MACEDONIAN CRY 

Canadian Fur-Traders Spread the Faith. — Iroquois 
Indians Carry Catholic Faith. — Deputation Goes to 
St. Louis. — Young Ignace Meets DeSmet. — Indian 
Missions Confided to Jesuits. — DeSmet Sets Out for 
Oregon. — In the Land of the Shoshones. — Fervor of 
the Flatheads. — At the Continental Divide. — Search 
for the White Man's Book of Heaven Pages 59-72 

CHAPTER VIII 

THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN MISSION 

Courtesy of Hudson's Bay Company Officials. — 
Foundation of Bitter Root Mission. — Tribes of North- 
ern Idaho Seek Aid. — Obstacles and Problems Inci- 
dent to Work. — DeSmet at Fort Colvile. — A Letter of 
Mrs. Whitman.— At Lake Pend d'Oreille. .Pages 73-82 



CONTENTS IX 

CHAPTER IX 

REINFORCEMENTS FROM EUROPE 

At the Coeiir d'Alene Camp — Meeting of Fathers 
Blanchet and DeSmet. — Missionary Conference at 
Vancouver. — DeSmet Returns witli Reinforcements. — 
Celebrates the Feast of the Assumption. — St. Francis 
Xavier Mission Founded Pages 83-88 

CHAPTER X 

developments; ecclesiastical and political 

Father Demers Visits Fort Stuart. — Douglas Founds 
Victoria. — Chapel Planned for Oregon City. — Political 
Situation in 1840. — Meeting to Form Provisional Gov- 
ernment. — McLoughlin's Contribution to Settlement of 
Oregon Question. — Blanchet's Attitude Toward Ameri- 
can Government. — Father Blanchet Consecrated 
Bishop. — Summary of Six Years' Apostolic Work. 

Pages 89-100 

CHAPTER XI 

CLOSE OF DESMET's OREGON MISSION 

Prosperity of Flathead Mission. — DeSmet's Influ- 
ence Among the Indians. — The Yakima Outbreak. — 
DeSmet as a Peace Maker. — Bids Farewell to Oregon 
Country. — DeSmet's Views on the Oregon Question. 

Pages 101-109 

CHAPTER XII 

THE ORIGINAL OREGON LAND FRAUD 

McLoughlin's Land Claim Disputed. — The Oregon 
Donation Land Act. — Thurston's Calumnies. — Friends 
and Enemies Pass "Resolutions. — Last Years of Mc- 
Loughlin. — Tribute to the Memory of McLoughlin. 

Pages 111-121 



X CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XIII 

THE FIRST CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN OREGON 

St. Joseph's College Founded. — Sisters of Notre 
Dame Arrive. — Captain Bailey Visits St. Paul. — Spirit- 
ual Exercise at the Academy. — Idyllic Life at St. 
Paul. — Father Blanchet Acts as Judge. — Sudden Clos- 
ing of the Schools Pages 123-130 

CHAPTER XIV 

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HIERARCHY 

Establishment of Ecclesiastical Province. — Secures 
Recruits and Aid in Europe. — The Archbishop Re- 
turns to Oregon. — Activity of Vicar-General Demers. — 
First Ordination in Oregon. — Arrival of the Bishop 
of Walla Walla. — Consecration of Bishop Demers. — 
Peter H. Burnett Pages 131-139 

CHAPTER XV 

THE WHITMAN MASSACRE AND LEGEND 

Whitman Founds Mission Among Cayuse. — The 
Massacre. — Spalding's Ingratitude. — Cause of the 
Whitman Massacre. — Anti-Catholic Prejudice. — The 
Whitman Myth. — Earliest Version. — The Dinner at 
Fort Walla Walla. — How Oregon Was Saved. — False 
in Every Important Detail. — Non-Catholic Historians 
Demolish Legend Pages 141-154 

CHAPTER XVI 

DECADE OF STRUGGLE (1848-1858). 

First Provincial Council is Held. — Bishop Demers 
Reaches Vancouver Island. — Diocese of Nesqually 
Created. — Conditions Serious at Oregon City. — State 
of the Diocese in 1852. — Archbishop Tours South 
America for Aid. — A Discouraging Outlook. 

Pages 155-163 



CONTENTS XI 

CHAPTER XVII 

PORTLAND BECOMES A CATHOLIC CENTER 

Father Croke, First Pastor of Portland. — The 
Church Moved to New Location. — Catholic Census in 
1855. — The Archbishop Secures the Sisters of the 
Holy Names. — St. Mary's Academy Opened. — Schools 
Reopened at Oregon City and St. Paul. — Other Early 
Schools. — The Pioneer Sisters of Providence. 

Pages 165-174 
CHAPTER XVIII 

A MISSIONARY TOUR IN 1853 

(Father Croke's Letters) 

Father Croke Visits Salem and Albany. — Difficul- 
ties of Missionary Life. — On the Banks of the South 
Umpqua. — Settlers Terrorized by the Indians. — A Trip 
to Coos Bay. — Donation for a Church at Empire City. 

Pages 175-188 
CHAPTER XIX 

FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH IN SOUTHERN OREGON 

Among the Miners. — Plans for a Church at Jack- 
sonville. — Collecting for the Church. — At the Forks 
of Althouse Creek. — Construction Begun. — Father 
Croke Recalled to San Francisco Pages 189-197 

CHAPTER XX 

AMONG THE INDIANS 

Obstacles to Successful Work Among the Indians. — 
Missionary Rivalry. — The Work of Father Mesplie. — 
Appointed United States Post Chaplain. — Father 
Croquet at Grand Ronde. — President Grant's Indian 
Policy. — Commissioners Unfriendly to Catholic Cause. 
— Catholic Indian Mission Bureau Established. 

Pages 199-209 



Xll CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XXI 

LAST YEARS OF ARCHBISHOP BLANCHET 

Father Fierens Becomes Pastor of Portland. — Erec- 
tion of the Vicariate of Idaho. — Golden Jubilee of 
Archbishop Blanchet. — Departs for the Vatican Coun- 
cil. — Catholic Sentinel Established. — St. Michael's 
College Opened. — St. Vincent's Hospital Established 
in Portland. — Active Administration of Archbishop 
Blanchet Closes. — Archbishop Seghers Becomes Co- 
adjutor. — Archbishop Blanchet's Farewell Pastoral. — • 
Death of Archbishop Blanchet Pages 211-222 

Bibliography • Pages 223-232 

Index Pages 233-237 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Pioneer Bishops 8 

Dr. John McLoughlin 58 

Rev. P. J. DeSmet, S. J 110 

Most Rev. F. N. Blanchet 122 

Hon. Peter H. Burnett 140 

Most Rev. C. J. Seghers 198 

Rev. J. T. Fierens 210 

Map Oregon Country 164 



CHAPTER I. 

m'lOL'GHLIN at fort VANCOl'VER. 

1. Period of Joint Occupancy. 

The story of the life of Dr. John McLough- 
lin is largely the history of the early Oregon 
Country. Before the treaty of 1846 between 
our Government and England the ''Oregon 
Country" embraced an area of approximately^ 
four hundred thousand square miles, and ex- 
tended from the present northern boundary of 
California and Nevada to the present south- 
ern boundary of Alaska. It was bounded on 
the east by the Rocky Mountains and on the 
west by the Pacific O^ean. The great com- 
mercial artery of this vast region was the Col- 
lumbia River with its tributaries. The first 
permanent white settlement on the Columbia 
was made in 1811, when the Pacific Fur Com- 
pany, under the control of John Jacob Astor, 
founded Astoria at the mouth of the river. The 
Pacific Fur Company was taken over in 1813 
by the Northwest Company, of IMontreal, which 
continued the fur trade with the Indians until 
1821, when it in turn was merged with the his- 
toric Hudson's Bay Company. It is on the oc- 
casion of this coalition that McLoughlin comes 
into view as an important factor in the history 



2 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

of the Pacific Northwest. Three years earlier, in 
1818, a convention between the United States 
and Great Britain had provided that the Ore- 
gon Country should remain free and open to 
the people of both countries for ten years. This 
agreement was subsequently extended indefi- 
nitely, subject to termination by either party on 
twelve months' notice. In 1846, at the sugges- 
tion of our Grovernment the arrangement termi- 
nated, and a treaty signed at Washington deter- 
mined the boundary line between our territory 
and the Dominion of Canada. The years that 
intervened between 1818 and 1846 are thus 
known as the period of Joint Occupancy. It 
can be readily seen that the administrative 
problems arising under such conditions would 
be of an extremely delicate nature and tax the 
highest executive powers. During almost the 
whole of this period of Joint Occupancy, Dr. 
John McLoughlin was autocrat of the entire 
Oregon Country. 

2. Early Years of McLoughlin. 

McLoughlin was born October 19, 1784, in 
Parish La Riviere du Loup, Canada, and was 
baptized on November 3, of the same year. 
Both of his parents were Catholics; his father 
of Irish, his mother of Scotch, descent. The 
boy seems to have been reared in the home of 



M*LOUGHLIN AT FORT VANCOUVER 3 

a maternal grandfather who brought him up 
in the Established Church of England. It is 
certain that prior to the date of his conversion 
to the Catholic faith in 1842 it was his custom 
at Fort Vancouver to read the services of the 
English Church to the congregation of officers 
and employes who attended. The influence of 
a maternal uncle decided the boy to become a 
physician. He made his studies partly in Can- 
ada and i:)artly in Scotland, and probably in 
France. In early manhood he joined the North- 
west Company and was placed in charge of 
Fort William, the chief depot and factory of 
the company, situated at the mouth of the 
Kaministiquia River on the north shore of Lake 
Superior. Here he met and married the widow 
of Alexander McKay, a former partner of John 
Jacob Astor in the Pacific Fur Company. Their 
union was blessed with four children, all of 
whom are dead. Several grandchildren survive, 
but none perpetuate the name, McLoughlin. 

3. McLoughlin Becomes Chief Factor. 

In 1821, when the Northwest Company was 
about to coalesce with the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany, Dr. McLoughlin as a partner in the for- 
mer, strongly opposed the combination as unfair 
and prejudicial to the interests of his com- 
pan}^ When the coalition had taken place, the 



4 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

Hudson's Bay Company officials in recognition 
of his executive ability appointed him Chief 
Factor of the company in the Oregon Coun- 
try. McLoughlin came overland to Astoria in 
1824 and assumed charge of the business in- 
terests of the company. He soon perceived that 
the great trading post should be located near 
the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia 
Rivers. Accordingly he founded Fort Van- 
couver on the north side of the Columbia River 
about seven miles above the mouth of the Wil- 
lamette. In 1839 he constructed a new fort at 
the distance of a mile from the original fort 
on the site of the present United States mili- 
tar}^ barracks, known as Vancouver Barracks. 

4. Relations With the Indians. 

With his headquarters at Fort Vancouver, 
Dr. McLoughlin was Chief Factor of the im- 
mense commercial interests of the Hudson's 
Bay Company, in the midst of a hundred thou- 
sand Indians. In a letter published in the "Ore- 
gon Spectator," Septemlier 12, 1850, IMcLough- 
lin speaks of his relations Avith the Indians : 
''When the Hudson's Bay Company first began 
to trade with these Indians thej^ were so hostile 
to the whites that they had to mount guard day 
and night at the establishment, have sentinels 
at the gates to prevent any Indian entering 



M LOUGIILIN AT FORT VANCOUVER O 

unless to trade, and when they entered to take 
their arms from them. The Columbia could not 
be traveled in parties of less than sixty well- 
armed men ; but by the management of the com- 
pany they were brought to that friendly disposi- 
tion that two men for several years back can 
travel in safety between this (Oregon City) 
and Fort Hall." There were no Indian wars 
in the Oregon Country during the entire period 
of IMcLoughlin's administration at Fort Van- 
couver from 1824 to 1846. The first Indian 
war began with the Whitman massacre in 1847, 
the year after McLoughlin retired from the 
Hudson's Bay Company. Mr. Holman, in his 
biography of McLoughlin, rightly ascribes this 
remarkable fact to the commanding personality 
of the Chief Factor. He writes: ''Physically, 
Dr. McLoughlin was a superb specimen of man. 
His height was not less than six feet, four 
inches. He carried himself as a master, which 
gave him an appearance of being more than 
six feet and a half high. He was almost per- 
fectly proportioned. Mentally he was endowed 
to match his magnificent physical proportions. 
He was brave and fearless; he was true and 
just; he was truthful and scorned to lie. The 
Indians, as well as his subordinates, soon came 
to know that if he threatened punishment for 
ail offense, it was as certain as that the offense 

2 



6 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

occurred. lie was absolute master of himself 
and of those under him. He was facile princeps. 
And, yet, with all these dominant qualities, he 
had the greatest kindness, sympathy and hu- 
manity." Shortly after his arrival in Oregon, 
McLoughlin put a stop to the sale of li(iuor to 
the Indians. In 183-1: a rival trader, named 
Wyeth, stopped selling liquor to the Indians 
at McLoughlin 's request. A few years later 
an American vessel came to the Columbia River 
to trade, having a large supply of liquors. The 
Chief Factor prevented the sale of the liquor 
to the savages by buying up the entire quantity. 

5. Hospitality at Fort Vancouver. 

Fort Vancouver was a haven of peace for the 
early immigrants after their dangerous trip 
across the plains. All travelers who drifted 
into the Columbia River country found at the 
Fort a most hospitable welcome. Nathaniel 
Wyeth, whom we have instanced as a rival 
trader, came overland in 1832. His party ar- 
rived at Vancouver in a destitute condition. 
In Wyeth 's ''Journal," under date of October 
29, 1832, we read : ''Arrived at the fort of Van- 
couver. Here I was received with the utmost 
kindness and hospitality by Dr. John McLough- 
lin, the acting Governor of the place. Our people 
were supplied with food and shelter. I find Dr. 



M LOUGHLIN AT FORT VANCOUVER / 

John McLoiighlin a fine old gentleman, truly 
philanthropic in his ideas." On leaving Fort 
Vancouver in February, 18-38, Wyeth writes : 
''I parted with feelings of sorrow from the gen- 
tlemen of Fort Vancouver. Their unremitting 
kindness to me while there much endeared them 
to me, more so than would seem possible during 
so short a time. Dr. McLoughlin, the Governor 
of the place, is a man distinguished as much for 
his kindness and humanity as his good sense 
and information ; and to whom I am so much 
indebted as that he will never be forgotten by 
me." And Wyeth was a competitor of the 
Hudson's Bay Compan.v. Among others whose 
experience was similar to that related by Wy- 
eth, was the naturalist, Townsend, who came to 
the Fort in 183-1:. Writing of the reception his 
party met with at the hands of Dr. McLoughlin, 
Townsend saj^s : ' ' He requested us to consider 
his house our home, provided a separate room 
for our use, a servant to wait upon us, and fur- 
nished us with ever.v convenience which we 
could possibly wish for. I shall never cease to 
feel grateful to him for his disinterested kind- 
ness to the poor, houseless and travel-worn 
strangers. ' ' 




00 cj 
PQ u 



CHAPTER TI. 

THE MISSIONARIES. 
1. Arrival of the Protestant Missionaries. 

McLouglilin's relations with the early mis- 
sionaries form an interesting chapter in the 
events of this period. The first missionaries to 
arrive were the Methodist ministers, Rev. Jason 
Lee and his nephew, Rev. Daniel Lee. They came 
with Wyeth's second expedition in 1834. The fol- 
lowing year. Rev. Samuel Parker, a Presbyte- 
rian minister, arrived at Fort Vancouver. 
Parker returned to the East in 1837, and pub- 
lished a book, entitled ^'Journal of an Explor- 
ing Tour Beyond the Rocky Mountains," in 
which he speaks of his reception at the Fort in 
the following terms : ' ' Dr. J. McLoughlin, a chief 
factor and superintendent of this fort and of 
the business of the Company west of the Rocky 
Mountains, received me with many expressions 
of kindness, and invited me to make his resi- 
dence my home for the winter, and as long as 
it would suit my convenience." In the same 
work, under date of Monday, May 11th, 1836, 
he saj's: ^'Having made arrangements to leave 
this place on the 14th, I called upon the chief 
clerk for my bill. He said the Company had 
made no bill against me, but felt a pleasure m 
gratuitously conferring all they have done for 



10 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

the benefit of the object in which I am en- 
gaged." In 1836, two men representing the 
American Board Missions, who acquired a great 
deal of notoriety in early Oregon history, 
namely, Dr. Marcus Whitman and Rev. H. H. 
Spalding, came to Vancouver. They were des- 
titute when they arrived at the Fort. Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin, with his usual kindness, furnished 
them with everything they needed and per- 
mitted Mrs. Whitman and Mrs. Spalding to 
make their home at the Fort for several months 
while the men were establishing the Mission. 
Marcus Whitman is the hero whose famous mid- 
winter ride has been recited in prose and verse. 
(See Chapter XV for a discussion of the Whit- 
man Legend.) 

2. McLoughlin's Kindness to the Methodists. 

The i\Iethodist missionaries, as has been said, 
came in the 3'ear 188-1. They were received by 
McLoughlin Avith his usual open-handed hospi- 
tality and were assisted in establishing their 
.Mission, being treated, as Jason Lee says in his 
diary under date of September 29, 1834, ''with 
the utmost politeness, attention and liberality." 
At the invitation of Dr. McLoughlin, Jason Lee 
preached at the Fort. In March, 1836, the of- 
ficers at the Fort made up a purse of more than 
a hundred dollars which they presented to Lee 



THE MISSIONARIES 11 

for the Mission. In fact, from their inception 
and for some years after, the success of all the 
missions, whether Methodist or Presbyterian, 
was due to the generosity of McLoughlin. This 
is frankh^ admitted by Rev. Gustavus Hines, 
the Methodist author of the Missionar}^ History 
of the Pacific Northwest. In 1837 the Metho- 
dist mission was increased by the arrival at 
Vancouver of a part}^ including Anna Maria 
Pittman, who soon became the wife of Jason 
Lee. Early in 1838 Lee went East on business 
for the Mission. He had been gone three 
months when his young wife died. AVith the 
fine thoughtfulness and sympathy that charac- 
terized him, Dr. McLoughlin dispatched a mes- 
senger as far as Westport, Missouri, to bear the 
news to Jason Lee. In view of these acts of 
kindness, the subsequent conduct of the mem- 
bers of the Mission toward Dr. McLoughlin 
can be read only with astonishment. (See Chap- 
ter XII.) 

3. The Great Reinforcement. 

While Jason Lee was in the East on the occa- 
sion just mentioned, he induced the IMissionary 
Board to raise $42,000 to send a large party of 
missionaries with plentiful provisions to Ore- 
gon on the ship Lausanne. The party that 
reached Vancouver in 1840 on the Lausanne is 



12 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

known in Methodist annals as the ''great re- 
inforcement." Among the number were Rev. 
Alvin Waller, and George Abernethy, Avho was 
to be stew^ard of the INIission, and who after- 
wards held the position of Governor during the 
time of the Provisional Government of Oregon. 
These men were to cause ]\IcLoughlin much 
trouble. When the Lausanne arrived ]McLough- 
lin sent fresh provisions to the members of the 
''great reinforcement" and provided for them 
at the Fort. "Whj^ this large addition to the 
Oregon Mission and these quantities of supplies 
were sent and this great expense incurred," 
says Mr. Holman, "has never been satisfactor- 
ily explained. The Methodist Oregon Mission 
was then, so far as converting the Indians, a 
failure." After 1843 the station lost much of 
its character as a mission and became a trading 
post. 

4. Vicar General Blanchet Arrives. 

Meanwhile the Catholic missionaries came on 
the scene. The first to arrive were Father 
Francis Norbert Blanchet and Father Modesto 
Demers, who crossed the Rockj^ Mountains be- 
tween the wonderful peaks of Mount Hooker 
and Mount Brown, and reached Oregon in 1838. 
(See Chapter IV.) A fcAv years later the Jesuit 
Father De Smet came and worked w^ith won- 



THE MISSIONARIES 13 

derful results among' the Flatlieads aiul Kalis- 
pels. (See Chapter VII.) It was Father Blan- 
chet, afterwards Archbishop, who established 
the mission at St. Paul, the oldest Catholic mis- 
sion in Oregon (page 37). It was Father 
Blanchet, too, who came most intimately in con- 
tact with Dr. McLoughlin. During the years 
immediately following 1838 the two became 
close friends. It was due to the influence of 
Father Blanchet that Dr. McLoughlin was 
brought to investigate the claims of the Catho- 
lic Church. The only account we possess of the 
circumstances surrounding the conversion of 
Dr. McLoughlin is that given by Archbishop 
Blanchet in his Historical Sketches of the Cath- 
olic Church in Oregon, published l)y the Cath- 
olic Sentinel Press in 1878. Under the caption, 
''The Remarkable Conversion of Dr. John Mc- 
Loughlin," we read: ''It is but just to make 
special mention of the important services which 
Dr. John McLoughlin — though not a Catholic — 
has rendered to the French Canadians and their 
families, during the fourteen years he was Gov- 
ernor at Fort Vancouver. He it was who read 
to them the prayers on Sunday. Besides the 
English school kept for the children of the 
bourgeois, he had a separate one maintained at 
his own expense, in which praj^ers and cate- 
chism were taught in French to the Catholic 



14 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

women and children on Sundays and week days 
by his order. ^ He also encouraged the chant of 
the canticles, in which he was assisted by his 
wife and daughter, Avho took much pleasure in 
this exercise. He visited and examined his 
school once a week, which was already formed 
of several good scholars, who soon learned to 
read French and became of great help to the 
priest. He, it Avas, who saved the Catholics of 
the Fort and their children from the dangers of 
perversion, and who, finding the log church the 
Canadians had built a few miles below Fairfield 
in 1836, not properly located, ordered it to be 
removed and rebuilt on a large prairie, its pres- 
ent beautiful site." 

5. Conversion of McLoughlin. 

''To that excellent man was our hoh^ religion 
indebted for w^hatever morality the missionaries 
found at Vancouver as Avell as for the welfare 
and temporal advantages, the settlers of the 
Cowlitz and Willamette Vallej^s enjoyed at that 
time. At the time the two missionaries arrived 
Dr. McLoughlin was absent, but was expected 
to return in the following September. The 
good work of that upright man deserved a re- 
ward ; he received it by being brought to the 
true Church in the following manner. When 

IThe first schools in the Pacific Northwest. 



THE MISSIONARIES 15 

he was once on a visit to Fort Nesqually, 'The 
End of Controversy,' by Dr. Milner, fell into 
his hands. He read it with avidity and was 
overcome and converted b}^ it at once. On his 
return to Fort Vancouver he made his abjura- 
tion and profession of Faith at the hands of the 
Vicar General, on November 18, 1842. He 
made his confession, had his marriage blessed 
on the same day, and prepared himself for 
his first communion by fasting during the 
four wrecks of Advent, which he passed on his 
claim at the Willamette Falls, now called Ore- 
gon City, in having the place surveyed into 
blocks and lots. Being thus prepared, he made 
his first communion at Fort Vancouver at mid- 
night Mass on Christmas, with a large number 
of faithful women and servants of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company. The little chapel was 
then full of white people and Indians; it was 
beautifully decorated and brilliantly illumin- 
ated ; the plain chant was grave ; the chant of 
the canticles of Noel in French and Chinook 
jargon, alternately by two choirs of men and 
women, was impressive, as well as was the holy 
performance around the altar ; in a Avord, it was 
captivating and elevating to the minds of the 
faithful commemorating the great day of the 
birth of our Savior.. From the time of his 
conversion till his death, Dr. McLoughlin 



16 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

showed himself a true and practical Christian 
and a worthy member of Holy Church ; 
never missing the divine services of Mass and 
Vespers on Sunday and Holy Days ; going to 
the holy table nearly monthly and preaching 
strongly by word and example. On going 
to church each Sunday he was often ac- 
companied by some Protestant friends ; one 
of them inviting him to go and assist at the 
services of their church, he answered him: 'No, 
sir, I go to the Church that teaches truth, but 
not to a Church that teaches error.' On hear- 
ing of this great man the Holy Father, Pope 
Gregory XVI, sent him the insignia of the 
Knights of the distinguished Order of St. Greg- 
ory, which Archbishop Blanchet delivered him 
on his return from Europe in August, 18J:7." 



CHAPTER IIT. 

THE FUTURE ARCHBISHOP OF OREGON. 

1. The Blanchet Family. 

It is a long journey from Miramichi 'Bay on 
the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the metropolis of 
Oregon, where the Willamette River mingles 
its waters with those of the great River of the 
West on its majestic course to the Pacific. And 
it were a long story to recount in detail the 
travels and labors of the Abbe Blanchet from 
his early missions among the peaceful Acadians 
and docile IMicmac Indians of New Brunswick 
to his heroic work in planting the standard of 
the cross and establishing an ecclesiastical prov- 
ince in the Pacific Northw^est. The su])ject of 
this chapter was born on September 3, 1795, in 
the parish of Saint-Pierre, Riviere du Sud, 
Lower Canada. He was baptized on the follow- 
ing day at the neighboring village of Saint- 
Francois, receiving the Christian name of Fran- 
cois probably in honor of the patron saint of 
the parish church in which the ceremony was 
performed. His parents, Pierre and Rosalie 
Blanchet, belonged to old Catholic families, — 
many of the members of which had won honor- 
able distinction in public life. A near relative 
of the future Archbishop, Francois Blanchet, 
M. D., was one of the foundei's of the first 



18 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

French Canadian newspaper, the celebrated 
''Canadien," which was established to safe- 
guard the civil and religiovis liberties of its 
countrymen. Another relative, a second cousin. 
Dr. Jean Blanchet, during the prevalence of the 
Asiatic cholera in 1832 and 1834, won the grati- 
tude of thousands of Irish immigrants who ar- 
rived at the port of Quebec while that terrible 
plague was raging. The Blanchet family has 
also given many members to the Church. In a 
genealogical memoir we find the names of fif- 
teen priests and an equal number of religious 
in communities of women. 

2. The Brothers at School. 

The young Francois and his brother IMagloire, 
afterwards Bishop of the diocese of Walla 
Walla (subsequently Nesqually, and now Seat- 
tle), were sent to the parish school in the vil- 
lage of Saint-Pierre. The school was founded 
and directed by the pastor, Rev. Joseph Pa- 
quet, to prepare promising youth of his own 
and neighboring parishes for their classical 
studies. About the time that the two brothers 
entered, it was the custom for ecclesiastical 
students not in the holy orders to be sent to 
the school from Quebec as instructors in Latin. 
In its brief existence of a dozen years, St. Jos- 
eph 's College (for so the school was properly 



THE FUTURE ARCHBISHOP OF OREGON 19 

called) was the nursery of a number of dis- 
tinguished eliurehnien, a notable instance be- 
sides our two bishops, being the future Arch- 
bishop of Quebec, ]\Igr. Charles Francois Bail- 
largeon. The young Frangois and Magloire 
Blanchet entered as. day scholars, but the walk 
of four miles from their farm home to the school 
in the severe winter weather and especially the 
danger of crossing the river (Riviere du Sud) 
determined their parents to enter them as 
boarders. Francois made his first communion 
in 1808 (in his twelfth year) and was confirmed 
the following year, adopting the name Norbert, 
which he afterwards used as a second Christian 
name. In 1810 the boys were sent to the minor 
Seminary of Quebec. During his classical and 
philosophical course, Francois won distinction 
in his studies ; we find him carrying of¥ first 
prize in Latin composition and the pompous 
title of Imperator (first honor) in a competi- 
tion in Latin translation. In 1816 he entered 
the Superior Seminary of Quebec and after a 
distinguished theological course was ordained 
to the priesthood on July 19, 1819, and cele- 
brated his first Mass on the following day. The 
ordination ceremony was performed by Bishop 
Panet, coadjutor to Mgr. Plessis, the illustrious 
Bishop of Quebec, during the absence of the 
latter in Europe. 



20 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

3. The Acadian Mission. 

During the year following his ordination the 
Abbe Blanehet was stationed at the Cathedral 
of Quebec as assistant. But Divine Providence, 
which had in store for him the arduous duties 
of a far Western apostolate, selected a more 
suital)le and effectual preparation for his life's 
work. The. old mission of St. Antoine of Rich- 
ibucto, New Brunswick, becoming vacant, the 
Very Rev. Bernard Angus IMacEachern, Vicar 
General and Bishop-elect for the Province and 
Islands of the Gulf, appealed to ]\Igr. Plessis to 
send him a French-speaking priest for the Aca- 
dians of that important mission. The lot fell 
upon the young Abbe Blanehet, who set out for 
h-is new field of labor in October, 1820. New 
Brunswick was formerly included in Acadia, 
the wrongs of whose people Longfellow has 
sung with so much pathos. The Micmac In- 
dians were the original possessors of the land, 
but the French had been their neighbors for a 
century and a half. With the energy which 
characterized him throughout life, the Abbe 
Blanehet set about restoring the village church, 
establishing catechetical schools and founding 
choirs. The better to minister to the wants of 
his Irish parishoners, he undertook the study of 
English and soon began to instruct the children 
in tliat language. He was much impressed with 



THE FUTURE ARCHBISHOP OF OREGON 21 

the mild, benevolent and docile disposition of 
his flock and to the end of his life was never 
weary of extolling their virtues. 

4. Schooled for an Arduous Apostolate. 

The vast territory under his charge was a 
wilderness without roads or bridges. ''The 
Abbe Blanchet's mission, which was visited 
regularly at least twice a year, involved the 
travel of about 225 miles to reach the several 
stations, situated on rivers, bays and capes. 
In summer this was done in birch canoes along 
the rivers ; in log canoes called pirogues, when 
crossing the arms of the sea ; on horseback 
across the country, and in winter, on skates or 
snow shoes or in dog trains, and this in a region 
where the thermometer marks thirty degrees 
below zero and where for several months the 
earth and ice are covered with five or six feet of 
snow. The oldest inhabitants still tell (1880) of 
his heroism in storms and dangers of every kind ; 
how he encouraged his good Acadian or Indian 
guides and shared with them their arduous la- 
bors and perils. His zeal never flagged, and 
after one of these long journeys to his distant 
stations, or after attending a sick call at a dis- 
tance of a hundred or two hundred miles, he 
would return to his humble dwelling in the vil- 
lage as cheerful and joyous as did the Acadian 

3 



22 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

farmer from his day's labor in his fields. Thus 
was the missionary being schooled for the duties 
of his apostolate in the wilds of distant Ore- 
gon." (Mallet, Manuscript Memoirs of F. N. 
Blanchet, p. 15.) 

5. Celebrating the Feast of St. Ann. 

A feature of missionary life among the Mic- 
macs that appealed strongly to the Abbe Blan- 
chet was the annual pilgrimage of the Indians 
to the shrine of St. Ann of the Burnt Church, 
which was an object of special devotion to all 
the neighboring tribes. At that hallowed spot 
on the northern shore of the great Miramichi 
Bay, the Indians of the whole surrounding coun- 
try assembled annually to celebrate the feast 
of St. Ann on July 26. After weeks of elab- 
orate preparation, the various tribes arrived 
from their respective homes. The Micmacs in 
their best garments and in their newly painted 
pirogues decorated with flags and banners, 
would form a flotilla and, amid the firing of 
guns, with their missionary at their head w^ould 
start on their long journe}' to the north. The 
arrival of the Richibucto delegation was the 
occasion of special demonstrations among the 
Indians of the Ba^^ Then came eight days of 
religious exercises and instruction under the di- 
rection of the pastor. Rev. Thomas Cook, after- 



THE FUTURE ARCHBISHOP OF OREGON 23 

wards Bishop of Three Rivers, Canada, ending 
with the general reception of Holj^ Communion 
on the feast of St. Ann. Scenes similar to this 
were to be common enough to our missionary 
in the OTegon country. 

6. Life at Village of Cedars. 

In the spring of 1827, the Abbe Blanchet, 
after seven years of missionary labor among the 
Acadians, acceded to the request of an old 
friend, Mr. Lavignon, to accompany him to 
Quebec. On his mother's death in 1821, shortly 
after his arrival at Richibucto, his old home had 
been broken up, and hence he expected only 
temporary absence from his charge. His supe- 
riors decided otherwise and appointed him to 
the important parish of Cedars, or St. Joseph de 
Soulanges, in the diocese of Montreal. The 
pleasant village of Cedars was not so much a 
center for a farming community as a rendez- 
vous for boats passing up and down the river. It 
was a great resort for travelers and voyageurs. 
Here our missionary came in contact with the 
current of life that was moving towards the 
west. The fur-trader and the adventurer who 
had dared the dangers of the Rocky Mountains 
and had come back with tales of the rich har- 
vest to be won from trading with the western 
Indians were frequent visitors at the Cedars. 



24 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

Here, too, the heriosm of the missionary was 
submitted to a severe test. In 1832 the dread- 
ful scourge of cholera broke out in his parish 
and his ministration knew no lines of creed. It 
was at this time that the non-Catholics of the 
place presented him with two large and beau- 
tiful silver cups in token of their admiration 
for his conduct in visiting the sick and dying. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE OREGON MISSION. 
1. Opening the Western Fur Lands. 

We come now to the events which lead to the 
establishment of the Oregon mission. Up to 
173], although the French possessions and the 
diocese of Quebec were presumed to extend 
into the interior to the uttermost limits of the 
undefined west, the country beyond Lake Su- 
perior and the headwaters of the Mississippi 
was still unexplored. An expedition projected in 
that year under the command of Pierre (jaul- 
thier, Sieur de la Verendrye, commandant of a 
post on Lake Superior, set out for the west and 
ascended the Assiniboine and its tributary, the 
Mouse River, in North Dakota. In 1743 the 
eldest son of La Verendrj^e led a small party 
ascending the upper Missouri to a point sup- 
posed to be near the present city of Helena, 
Montana. They were the first white men to 
discover the Rocky Mountains. The country 
thus opened up became the great fur land of 
North America. Beside the fort of the trader 
soon arose the log house of the colonist. When 
Canada passed into the hands of England in 
1765, French settlements were to be found on 
the Red River, on Lake IManitoba and even on 
the mighty Saskatchewan. The Hudson's Bay 



26 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

Company at once opened its forts in the new 
regions, and the Canadians, unable to maintain 
an unequal contest, retired to lower Canada. 
The organization of the Northwest Company 
in 1783, however, once more gave the Canadians 
standing in the country and they were soon 
found scattered from Pembina on the Red River 
of the North to Astoria (1811) at the mouth of 
the Columbia. 

2. Bishop Provencher at St. Boniface. 

Meanwhile no priest had been in the North- 
west country since Canada had passed under 
the dominion of England. In 1818 (the year 
before Abbe Blanchet's ordination) Mgr. Pies- 
sis, Bishop of Quebec, in response to petitions 
from the Catholic settlers in the Red River 
country drawn up at the suggestion of the Earl 
of Selkirk, sent two missionaries to instruct, or 
revive the faith among, his neglected spiritual 
children of the upper country. These were 
Abbe Joseph Norbert Provencher, who was ap- 
pointed Vicar General and chief of the mis- 
sion, and the Abbe Dumoulin, his assistant. 
The Abbe Provencher fixed his residence at 
what is now St. Boniface, Manitoba. Pour 
years later he was elevated to the episcopate 
with the title Bishop of Juliopolis in purttbus, 
the auxiliary of the Bishop of Quebec and Vicar 



THE OREGON MISSION 27 

Apostolic for the District of the Northwest. 
With this explanation we are in a position to 
understand the events which led to the estab- 
lishment of the Oregon mission. 

3. The Willamette Settlement Requests Mission- 
aries. 

The arrival of missionaries and later of a 
bishop had produced among the Canadians and 
half-breeds and Indians of the upper country a 
sensation which was soon communicated to the 
remotest posts of the fur companies. Just at 
this time occurred a cessation of hostilities be- 
tween the rival fur-trading companies and their 
union under the title of the Honorable Hudson's 
Bay Company with Dr. John McLoughlin in 
charge of the forts in the Oregon Country. It 
was under McLoughlin 's direction that a num- 
ber of the Canadian employes of the Company 
whose term of office had expired, were supplied 
with provisions and farming implements to 
enable them to settle in the Willamette Valley 
on what has since been known as French Prai- 
rie. (Chapter V, par. 3.) This was the first 
agricultural settlement in the present State of 
Oregon and became the nucleus of the 
large and prosperous Catholic settlement of 
St. Paul. Thus even the Canadians in 
distant Oregon heard the good news and 



28 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

longed for the coming of missionaries among 
them to re-animate their faith and recon- 
cile themselves, their Indian wives and their 
children to the Church. Their desires found 
expression in petitions which they drew up on 
July 3, 1834, and again on February 23, 1835, 
at the suggestion of Dr. McLoughlin. These 
petitions were directed to ]\Igr. Provencher and 
recited their sad spiritual conditions and 
begged that priests might be sent to reside with 
them on the banks of the Willamette. The 
Hudson's Bay Company would provide trans- 
portation and the Canadian settlers agreed to 
support the missionaries. Mgr. Provencher in 
answer to these petitions wrote a pastoral to his 
spiritual children on the Willamette and for- 
warded it to them through Dr. McLoughlin. The 
Bishop tells them that he has no priests at Red 
River whom he can send, but that he is on the 
point of starting for Canada and Europe, where 
he will make every effort to secure missionaries 
for them and for the Indian tribes about them. 
He exhorts them in the meantime to deserve by 
their good behavior that God will bless his 
undertaking. At the same time Mgr. Proven- 
cher wrote to Mgr. Joseph Signay, Bishop of 
Quebec, concerning the expressed wish of the 
Catholics of O'regon for missionaries. On the 
return of Bishop Provencher from Europe it 



THE OREGON MISSION 29 

was decided to send two priests to the new 
field and he at once entered into correspond- 
ence with Governor Simpson, of the Hudson's 
Bay Company in London, for their transporta- 
tion. 

4. Mission Encouraged North of the Columbia. 

The Oregon question had come to be a critical 
issue between the American and English gov- 
ernments at this time (1837), and the officers 
of the Hudson's Bay Company in London ob- 
jected to the establishment of a mission in the 
Willamette Valley which, lying south of the 
Columbia River, was in disputed territory. Gov- 
ernor Simpson suggested that the mission be 
established north of the Columbia and Mgr. Pro- 
vencher acquiesced in the suggestion. A letter of 
Governor Simpson to the Bishop of Quebec 
under date of London, February 17, 1838, sums 
up the correspondence: "My Lord: I yester- 
day had the honor of receiving a letter from the 
Bishop of Juliopolis, dated Red River, 13th 
October, 1837, wherein I am requested to com- 
municate with your Lordship on the subject of 
sending two priests to the Columbia River for 
the purpose of establishing a Catholic mission 
in that part of the country. 

"When the Bishop first mentioned this sub- 
ject, his view was to form the mission on the 
banks of the Willamette, a river falling into 
the Columbia from the south. To the estalv 
lishing of a mission there, the Governor and 
Committee in London and the Council in Hud- 



30 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

son's Bay had a decided objection, as the sov- 
ereignty of that country is still undecided ; but 
I last summer intimated to the Bishop that if he 
would establish the mission on the banks of the 
Cowlitz River, or on the Cowlitz Portage, fall- 
ing into the Columbia from the northward, and 
give his assurrance that the missionaries Avould 
not locate themselves on the south side of the 
Columbia River ... I should recommend 
the Governor and the Committee to afford a 
passage to the priests. . . . 

*'By the letter received yesterday-, already 
alluded to, the Bishop enters fully into my 
views and expresses his willingness to fall in 
with my suggestions. This letter I have laid 
before the Grovernor and Committee and am 
now instructed to intimate to your Lordship 
that if the priests will be ready at Lachine to 
embark for the interior about the 25th of April, 
a passage will be afforded them, and on the ar- 
rival at Fort Vancouver measures will be taken 
by the Company's representatives there to fa- 
cilitate the establishing of the mission. 

''Your Lordship's most obedient servant, 

''GEO SIMPSON." 

5. Missionaries Appointed for Oregon. 

In the meantime the Bishops had selected the 
priests who were destined to carry the light of 
the Gospel into the new field. The Bishop of 
Quebec gave the charge of the mission of Ore- 
gon to Abbe Blanchet, still where we left him, 
ministering to his Hock at Cedars. By letters 



THE OREGON MISSION 31 

dated April 17th, 1838, he was appointed Vicar 
General to the Bishop of Quebec with jurisdic- 
tion over the territory ''which is comprised 
between the Rocky Mountains on the east, the 
Pacific Ocean on the west, the Russian posses- 
sions on the north and the territory of the 
United States on the south." Special caution 
was given him not to establish missions in the 
territory south of the Columbia, "the posses- 
sion whereof is contested by the United States." 
The Abbe Modeste Demers, a young priest who 
had been ordained the previous year and who 
had been sent to the mission of the Red River 
of the North, was appointed assistant to the 
new Vicar General of Oregon. By an indult of 
the Holy See dated February 28, 1836, the Co- 
lumbia country had been annexed to the Vicar- 
iate Apostolic of Mgr. Provencher of Red River. 

6. From Montreal to Fort Vancouver. 

The journey from Montreal to Fort Van- 
couver occupied six months. The distance from 
Lachine to Red River (2,100 miles) was made 
with canoes with occasional portages from one 
river or lake to another in a little more than a 
month. At Red River the Vicar General passed 
a month with Bishop Provencher and took his 
departure in company with the Abbe Demers 
in July for the Rocky Mountains, covering the 



32 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

distance of 2,000 miles in less than three months 
and reaching the summit of the Rockies (be- 
tween Mounts Hooker and Brown in Alberta) 
on the 10th of October. At 3 o'clock in the 
morning of that day the Vicar General cele- 
brated Mass and consecrated — to quote his own 
words — ''to their Creator these mountains and 
abrupt peaks whose prodigious heights ascend 
toward heaven to celebrate the praise of the 
Almighty." On the following Sunday the 
caravan arrived at Big Bend on the banks of 
the Columbia, and the Holy Sacrifice was of- 
fered for the first time in the Oregon country, 
Abbe Demers being celebrant. 

The remainder of the journey was made in 
light boats on the Columbia. Convenient stops 
were made at Forts Colvile, Okanogan and 
Walla Walla (now Wallula). At this last post 
the missionaries were visited b}^ the Walla 
Walla and ©ayuse Indians, among whom Dr. 
Whitman, of the '' Whitman-Saved-Oregon" 
myth fame, was zealously working at the Wail- 
atpu mission. At Fort Walla Walla their visit 
was made pleasant by meeting with a Catholic 
gentleman in the person of the commandant, 
Mr. Pambrun. The meeting with the Cayuse 
Indians at this place led to closer relations in 
subsequent visits of Father Demers to the Fort 
and a growing estrangement between the Cath- 



THE OREGON MISSION 33 

olic and Protestant missionary forces. From 
Fort Walla Walla, their flotilla set out for Fort 
Vancouver and, after a week of slow and tedi- 
ous descent of the Columbia, arrived at their 
destination on Saturday, November 24, 1838. 
They were greeted by James Douglas, who was 
Chief Factor and Governor of the Hudson's 
Bay Company, west of the Rocky Mountains in 
the absence of Dr. John McLoughlin on a visit 
to Canada and England. They had arrived at the 
scene of their future labors. On this date, 
therefore, begins the history of the Catholic 
Church in the Pacific Northwest. 

No sooner had the missionaries reached the 
Fort than they were waited on by Joseph Ger- 
vais, Etienne Lucier and Pierre Beleque, a dele- 
gation representing the Canadians of the Wil- 
lamette Valley. The settlers of French Prairie, 
on hearing that the missionaries were coming, 
left their homes in a body and came to Van- 
couver to greet them. A delay in the arrival 
of the Vicar General's party, however, obliged 
nearly all to return disappointed, leaving only 
three to represent them and offer to the mis- 
sionaries their grateful welcome. 

7. First Mass at Fort Vancouver. 

The day following their arrival being Sunday, 
preparations Avere made in the school house at 
the Fort for the celebration of High Mass by 



34 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

the Vicar General. It was the first time that 
many of the Canadians present had been privi- 
leged to assist at the Holy Sacrifice for ten. fif- 
teen or even twenty years. Tears came into 
their eyes as they reflected on the blessings 
which would be brought to themselves, their 
wives and children by the instructions and min- 
istrations of the priests who had come among 
them. The employes of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany, in active service at the twenty-eight forts 
for fur-trade, were for the most part Catholic; 
besides these, were four Canadian families set- 
tled in Cowlitz and twenty-six families in the 
Willamette Valley, This was the nucleus around 
which the missionaries were to establish the 
Church in the Pacific Northwest. No flattering 
picture of the conditions confronting him is 
drawn by the future Archbishop. He writes : 
"Many of the servants and settlers had for- 
gotten their prayers and the religious principles 
they had received in their youth. The women 
they had taken for their wives were pagans, or 
baptized without sufficient knowledge. Their 
children were raised in ignorance. One may 
well imagine that in many places, disorders, 
rudeness of morals and indecency in practices 
answered to that state of ignorance." (Histor- 
ical Sketches, p. 62.) 



CHAPTER V. 

LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS. 
1. An Extended Mission. 

Father Blaiiehet began his work by opening 
at Fort Vancouver for the Catholics of the place 
a mission which lasted with very little inter- 
ruption from the end of November, 1838, to the 
middle of April of the next year. A census 
taken at the time showed seventy-six Catholics 
at the Fort, including a number of Catholic 
Iroquois as well as the Canadian employes. 
During the mission especial attention was paid 
to the Indians. In the morning and evening 
Father Demers, who had mastered the Chinook 
jargon, taught them the prayers he had trans- 
lated for them, and in the afternoon about one 
hundred women and children gathered for in- 
struction preparatory to baptism. While 
Father Demers was instructing the Indians, the 
Vicar General taught the Canadians, giving in- 
structions both in French and English, so that 
some of those who were more apt were soon 
able to assist in teaching the prayers and cate- 
chism to others. The teaching of Gregorian 
chant was a matter of special pride with the 
Vicar General, and he alwaj^s mentions with 
satisfaction the solemn chanting of the services 
by the savages in his various missions. 



36 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

2. The Cowlitz Settlement Visited. 

According to the agreement already men- 
tioned, between Mgr. Provencher and Sir 
George Simpson, the Catholic mission was to 
be established on the Cowlitz River, as the set- 
tlement on the Willamette (then called Wal- 
lamet) was in disputed territory. Accordingly, 
the Vicar General left Vancouver on December 
12, in a canoe paddled by four Indians, and 
arrived at the Cowlitz settlement on Sunday, 
December 16. He celebrated Mass in the house 
of one of the Canadian settlers, Mr. Simon Pla- 
mondon. He chose for the mission six hundred 
and forty acres of clear prairie land and left his 
servant to square the timbers for a house and 
barn and to make rails for fences. On leaving, 
he appointed one of the farmers, Mr. Fagnant, 
to teach the pra3'ers and catechism to the avo- 
men and children until the next visit of the mis- 
sionaries. 

3. The First House of Worship in Oregon. 

The fact that no mission was to be estab- 
lished south of the Columbia did not deter the 
Vicar General from attending to the spiritual 
wants of the settlers who had first sent the Ma- 
cedonian cry to the bishops of Canada. On his 
return from Cowlitz he spent his first Christmas 
in the West at Fort Vancouver, celebrating mid- 



LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS 37 

night Mass with great solemnity — a custom 
which he never failed to observe. On January 
8, 1839, he set out for the settlement in the 
Willamette Valley a few miles above Cham- 
poeg, near the present town of St. Paul. The 
history of this settlement is related by Arch- 
bishop Blanchet as follows : 

''There remained in the country three Cana- 
dians, remnants of the old expeditions of Hunt 
and Astor, viz., Etienne Lucier, one of the 
former, and Joseph Gervais and Louis Labonte 
of the latter. Etienne Lucier being tired of 
living a wandering life, began in 1829 to culti- 
vate the land near Fort Vancouver, and getting 
dissatisfied w^ith his first choice, left it in 1830, 
and removing to the Willamette Valley, settled 
a few miles above Champoeg, then called b}^ the 
Canadians 'Campement de Sable.' FolloAving 
his example, the two others followed him in 
1831 and settled some distance south of him, 
one on the right, and the other on the left side 
of the river. Some old servants of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company, being discharged from fur- 
ther service, went over to them and increased 
their number. The good and generous Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin encouraged the colony and helped it 
all in his power." (Historical Sketches, p. 75.) 
This was the community which had petitioned 
Mgr. Provencher for a spiritual guide. When 



38 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

the Vicar General arrived at Champoeg he was 
provided w^ith a mount and rode to the church, 
which stood at a distance of four miles. The 
church, the first erected in Oregon, a log struc- 
ture, thirty by seventy feet, had been built in 
1836, having been undertaken as soon as the 
settlers had received Mgr. Provencher's pas- 
toral promising them missionaries and exhort- 
ing them to the faithful practice of their relig- 
ion. Father Blanchet took possession of a 
small room behind the altar and spent the after- 
noon in receiving visits from the people, whose 
ardent wishes had that day been realized. 

The following day, January 6, being Sunday 
and the feast of the Epiphany, the church, the 
first in the Pacific Northwest, was blessed under 
the patronage of the Apostle St. Paul, and Holy 
Mass, for the first time in the present State of 
Oregon, was celebrated in the presence of the 
Canadians, their wives and children. For four 
weeks the Vicar General conducted a mission 
among them, instructing all, baptizing the wo- 
men and children and blessing the marriages. 
Before leaving he took possession of a section 
of land around the church, because both he and 
the settlers had every confidence that Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin Avould secure permission for the estab- 
lishment of a permanent mission on the Wil- 
lamette. 



LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS 39 

4. The Catholic Ladder. 

After a few weeks at Fort Vancouver, the 
Vicar General set out again for Cowlitz and 
opened a mission there in the house of Mr. Pla- 
mondon on Passion Sunday, the 17th of March, 
1839. The mission continued until Easter, the 
ceremonies of Holy Week making a deep im- 
pression upon all who attended. A device 
called ''The Catholic Ladder," adopted by 
Father Blanchet on the occasion of this mis- 
sion, was to exert a wide influence in all the 
early Catholic missionarj^ work among the In- 
dians in Oregon. The news of the arrival of 
the missionary at Cowlitz caused numerous del- 
egations of Indians to come from remote dis- 
tances in order to see and hear the black-gown. 
Among these was one from an Indian tribe on 
Whidbey Island, Puget Sound, 150 miles from 
the Cowlitz mission. After a journey of two 
days in canoes to Fort Nesqually and an ardu- 
ous march of three days on foot, across streams 
and rivers and by an exceedingly rough trail, 
they reached Cowlitz with bleeding feet, and 
famished. When they were refreshed, the mis- 
sionary began to explain to them the teachings 
of the Christian religion. In his Historical 
Sketches Archbishop Blanchet gives the follow- 
ing account of the matter: "The great diffi- 
culty was to give them an idea of religion so 



40 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

plain and simple as to command their atten- 
tion . . . and which they could carry back 
with them to their tribes. In looking for a plan 
the Vicar General imagined that by represent- 
ing on a square stick the forty centuries before 
Christ by forty marks ; the thirty-three years 
of our Lord by thirty-three points followed by a 
cross ; and the eighteen centuries and thirty- 
nine years since, by eighteen marks and thirty- 
nine points, his design would be pretty well 
answered, giving him a chance to show the be- 
ginning of the world, the creation, the fall of 
the angels, of Adam, the promise of a saviour, 
the time of His birth, and His death upon the 
cross as well as the mission of the Apostles. 
The plan was a great success. After eight days 
of explanation the chief and his companions be- 
came masters of the subject . . . and 
started for home well satisfied with a square 
rule thus marked." (Page 85.) The same scheme 
was soon after worked out on a chart, at first 
simply, but later in a very elaborate manner. 
A copy of this chart in its final form, as copy- 
righted by Archbishop Blanchet in 1859. meas- 
ures five feet in length and two and a half feet 
in wndth. It is a veritable pictorial compen- 
dium of Biblical and Church history. The use 
of the Catholic Ladder spread ver}' rapidly, 
and a copy of the chart was to be found in 



LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS 41 

every Indian camp visited by a Catholic mis- 
sionary. In the absence of the priest, the In- 
dian chiefs took great pride in expounding the 
''Ladder" to their people. Father De Smet 
praised it very highly, and the view taken of it 
by the Protestant missionaries may be seen 
from the fact that they tried to counteract its 
influence by a "Protestant Ladder" in which 
the history of the Catholic Church was traced 
as the broad way that leads to perdition. It is 
certain that this concrete and pictorial presen- 
tati'on of religion was much better suited to the 
capabilities of the savage than the abstract doc- 
trinal methods employed by the Protestant mis- 
sionaries, and it achieved more success. 

5. Father Demers at Fcrt Nesqually. 

While he was conducting the mission at Cow- 
litz, the Vicar General was informed that the 
Methodists were about to open an establishment 
among the Indians at Fort Nesqually. He im- 
mediately dispatched Father Demers thither, 
feeling that it would be easier to gain the atten- 
tion of the savages before they had been ex- 
posed to hostile teachers. A ten days' mission 
by Father Demers resulted in gaining the good 
will of the Indians, in bringing back to the 
practice of their religion the Canadian em- 
ployes of the Fort and in the conversion of 



42 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

Mrs. Kitson, the wife of the commandant^ at 
Fort Nesqually, who thereafter acted as inter- 
preter. Father Demers made arrangements to 
build a chapel at Fort Nesquall}^ and hastened 
back to Fort Vancouver to take passage on one 
of the barges of the Hudson's Bay Company for 
the Upper Columbia settlements. The summer 
months of 1839 found him giving missions at 
Forts Colvile, Okanogan and Walla Walla to 
the great spiritual benefit of both the savages 
and the Canadians. In October Father Demers 
was back again at the Cowlitz. From a letter 
written at this time we get the interesting infor- 
mation that on the 14th of October he blessed a 
fifty-pound bell and after having it placed in 
position, rang the Angelus — the first time in 
the Oregon Country .^ 

6. Antagonism Between Rival Missionaries. 

Meanwhile the Vicar General revisited the 
settlement on the Willamette and later con- 
ducted a successful mission at Fort Nesqually. 
At the former place no little excitement was 
caused by the antagonism of the rival mission- 
aries. A number of marriages and baptisms 

1 Mr. Kitson was received into the Church the follow- 
ing year. 

2 This was in the present State of Washington. The 
Vicar General had an eightv-pound bell set in place and 
blessed at St. Paul two days before Christmas, 1839. This 
was the first bell to peal forth the Angelus in the present 
State of Oregon. 



I^AYING THE FOUNDATIONS 43 

were performed bj^ Father Blanchet in eases 
where the Methodist ministers had already of- 
ficiated. The ministers had also established a 
temperance society and had gathered in a num- 
br of Catholics, — which would doubtless have 
been good for them had it not been made a means 
of perverting their faith. When the Catholic 
mission was established, the Catholics withdrew 
from the society, much to the chagrin of the 
opposing missionaries. To disaffect the minds 
of people toward the Catholic mission, a copy 
of the vile "disclosures" of Maria Monk was 
circulated in the community. When the true 
character of the book was made known, its cir- 
culation produced an effect contrary to that 
intended, and it was quietly withdrawn. 

7. Mission Permitted South of the Columbia. 

The first year of missionary life in Oregon 
closed auspiciously Avith notice from the Hud- 
son's Bay Company that the Governor and 
Committee had reconsidered their objection to 
the establishment of a Catholic mission on the 
south side of the Columbia and that the mis- 
sionaries were at liberty to make such a foun- 
dation on the Willamette. The news was con- 
veyed to the Vicar General by acting Governor 
James Douglas in the absence of Dr. McLough- 
lin, who was in Europe. The change of attitude 



44 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

on the part of the Company was effected by the 
representations of Dr. McLoughlin while in 
London.* McLoughlin returned to Fort Van- 
couver in the fall of 1839 and paid a visit to 
the settlement on the "Willamette, where he was 
greeted as a father. This was the occasion of 
his first meeting with the future Archbishop. 

8. Astoria and Whidbey Island. 

During the year 1840, our missionaries laid 
the foundation of two important establishments, 
the one at Astoria at the mouth of the Colum- 
bia, the other at Whidbey- Island on Puget 
Sound. Father Demers reached Astoria on 
May 21 and on the following day pitched his 
tent among the Chinook Indians. At the time 
of his arrival, the ship, Lausanne, had just 
crossed the Columbia bar with the ''great re- 
inforcement" for the Methodist mission on the 
AVillamette. Father Demers "with a little bell 
in one hand and a 'Catholic Ladder' in the other 
continued his mission for three weeks, instruct- 
ing the adults, baptizing the children and doing 
much good." MeauAvhile the Vicar General 
had made his way by canoe from Fort Nes- 
qually to Whidbey Island on Puget Sound, 
where he erected a massive cross (Avhence Com- 
modore Wilkes called it Cross Island) and 
gathered the savages about him for daily in- 
struction.^ 



IFather Magin Catala and other Franciscans had been 
at Nootka Sound with the Spanish explorers (1774-1794). 
Engelhardt, "Holy Man of Santa Clara," p. 18. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE AMERICAN IMMIGRATION. 
1. The Outlook in 1842. 

At the time of his conversion McLoughlin's 
fortunes and powers were at their zenith ; his 
prospects w^ere golden. During the years of 
his administration at Fort Vancouver he had 
built up the business of his Company to enor- 
mous proportions. The Indians w^ere peaceful 
and obedient and he commanded the respect as 
well as the obedience of the officers and em- 
ployes of the Company. His salary reached, what 
was for those times, the almost princely sum of 
$12,000 annually. He had completed his fifty- 
eighth year with the physical and mental 
powers of the very prime of manhood. Joining 
the Catholic Church at this time was, liumanly 
speaking, most ill-advised. To the prejudice 
against McLoughlin as a British subject before 
and during the "54-40 or fight" campaign of 
Polk in 1844, was added the prejudice against 
him as. a Catholic, which, as Mr. Holman re- 
marks, was intensified locall}" in Oregon by "a 
partial success of the Roman Catholic mission- 
aries with the Indians, where the Protestants 
had failed." Then, there was also McLough- 
lin 's land claim at Oregon City, which was 
coveted by members of the Methodist Mission, 



46 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

and of which we shall have occasion to speak 
later on. The ten j^ears following the conver- 
sion of McLoughlin were to witness important 
developments in the Oregon Country. 

2. American Immigration Begins. 

Beginning with 1842, a tide of immigration 
set toward Oregon from the Eastern States. 
Of the one hundred and twenty-five persons 
who came in 1842, a part onlj^ remained in Ore- 
gon. Oil their arrival thej^ were assisted very 
generously by Dr. McLoughlin and, when near- 
ly half of their number set out for California 
a few months later, they were furnished by 
him with supplies, with the understanding that 
they would repa}^ the Hudson's Bay Company's 
agent, at Yerba Buena (now San Francisco). 
Most of them did not pay, and IMcLoughlin as- 
sumed personal responsibility for their indebt- 
edness to the Company. The first great influx 
of home-builders came in 1843. The company, 
consisting of nearly nine hundred persons, set 
out from Independence, Mo., on their long and 
tedious journej^ across the plains and moun- 
tains. They were led by Hon. Peter H. Burnett, 
who became the first Governor of California, 
and J. W. Nesmith, afterwards United States 
Senator from Oregon. On reaching the Co- 
lumbia River they followed its course. Their 



THE AMERICAN IMMIGRATION 47 

greatest difficult}' was in getting from the 
upper to the lower Cascades. As the rafts 
could not be taken over the rapids, it was 
necessary to cut a trail around the Cascades. 
Meanwhile the rains set in. The condition of 
the immigrants became desperate. They had 
not anticipated such hardships and were ill 
prepared for them. Few had sufficient- food 
or clothing, and manj^ w^ere absolutely desti- 
tute. Dr. IMcLoughlin came to their relief. 
He furnished boats to carry them from the 
Cascades to Vancouver. He sold supplies to 
those who were able to pay and gave credit 
without collateral to all Avho were in want. 
By his orders the sick were nursed and cared 
for in the Company's hospital at the Fort. 

3. Indian Massacre Averted. 

While the immigrants were following the 
course of the Columbia River, The Dalles In- 
dians plotted to massacre the entire party. 
One can readily see what would have been the 
result of such a catastrophe. It would have 
prevented for many years the development of 
the Oregon Country by the Americans, and this 
is precisely what the Hudson's Bay Company 
would have desired. They wished to prevent 
the settlement of the country, so as to keep it a 
rich field for their exploitation, a wild country 



48 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

for wild animals. To carry out the wishes of 
his Company, Dr. McLon^hlin need only have 
permitted events to take their course. The 
Indians would have effectually discouraged im- 
migration, and the Oregon Country would have 
been saved to Great Britain and the Hudson's 
Bay Company for years to come. But Mc- 
Loughlin put aside the interests of company 
and country to protect the higher interests of 
humanity. We learn from his own pen how 
the massacre was averted. In a document now 
in the possession of the Oregon Historical As- 
sociation he saj^s : ^'In 1843, about 800 im- 
migrants arrived from the States. I saw by 
the look of the Indians that they Avere excited, 
and I watched them. As the first stragglers 
were arriving at Vancouver in canoes, and I 
was standing on the bank, nearer the water 
there was a group of ten or twelve Indians. 
One of them bawled out to his companions, 
'It is good for us to kill these Bostons (Amer- 
icans).' Struck with the excitement I had seen 
in the countenances of the Indians since they 
had heard the report of the immigration com- 
ing, I felt certain they were inclined to mis- 
chief, and that he spoke thus loud as a feeler 
to sound me, and to take their measures ac- 
cordingly. I immediately rushed on them with 
m}^ cane, calling out at the same time, 'Who 



THE AMERICAN IMMIGRATION 49 

is the dog that says it is a good thing to kill 
the Bostons?' The fellow trembling, excused 
himself, 'I spoke without meaning harm, but 
The Dalles Indians say so.' 'Well,' said I, 'The 
Dalles Indians are dogs for saying so and you 
also,' and left them. I had done enough to 
convince them I would not allow them to do 
wrong to the immigrants with impunity. . . . 
I immediately^ formed my plan and kept my 
knowledge of the horrid design of the Indians 
secret, as I felt certain that if the Americans 
knew it, these men acting independently of 
each other would be at once for fighting, which 
would lead to their total destruction, and I 
sent two boats with provisions to meet them ; 
sent provisions to Mr. Burnett . . . being con- 
fident that the fright I had given the Indians 
who said it was a good thing to kill the Bos- 
tons, was known at The Dalles before our boats 
were there, and that the presence of the Hud- 
son's Ba}' Compan}^ people, and the assistance 
they afiPorded the immigrants, Avould deter the 
Indians from doing them any wrong, and I am 
happy to be able to say that I entirely suc- 
ceeded." 

4. McLoughlin Provides Seed Wheat. 

When the immigrants arrived at their desti- 
nation their trials did not cease. They had 
come in the fall of the year and were without 



50 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

provisions. The problem was to provide for 
their needs until the next harvest, if, indeed, 
they should have a harvest. Again McLough- 
lin came to their relief without solicitation. He 
furnished the necessary supplies, gave credit, 
supplied food and clothing and loaned the set- 
tlers seed wheat and farm implements. All 
this, it w^ill be remembered was strictly against 
the regulations and policy of the Hudson's Bay 
Company. IMcLoughlin assumed personal re- 
sponsibility for the payment of these debts, to 
his subsequent sorrow. In referring to the 
treatment accorded to the immigrants, Mr. Bur- 
nett, who led the party, wrote in his Journal 
of travels: "The kindness of Dr. IMcLoughlin 
to this emigration has been ver}' great. He 
furnished them with goods and provisions on 
credit, and such as w^ere sick were sent to the 
hospital free of expense, w^here they had the 
strict and careful attendance of Dr. Barclay, a 
skillful physician. . . . Had it not been for the 
kindness of this excellent man (McLoughlin) 
many of us Avould have suffered greatly." 
Much more could be quoted from immigrants 
of 1843 to the same effect. 

5. The Immigrants of 1844 Receive Aid. 

The foUow^ing year witnessed an increased 
immigration. About fourteen hundred persons 
formed the company. A large part of their 



THE AMERICAN IMMIGRATION 51 

goods and provisions were lost in the long 
journey. Again Dr. McLoughlin came to the 
rescue. John Minto, one of the pioneers of 
1814, states that the immigrants of that year 
descended the Columbia River in boats fur- 
nished from the fort; the hungry were fed 
and the sick cared for and nursed in the hos- 
pital. Another pioneer of 1844, Joseph Watt, 
gives the following account in his ^* Recollec- 
tions of Dr. John McLoughlin:" "We had 
eaten the last of our provisions at our last 
camp, and were told by Hess (wdiom McLough- 
lin had sent with a bateau to bring the party 
dow^n the Columbia) that we could get plenty 
at the fort, with or without money ; that the 
old Doctor never turned people away hungry. 
This made us feel quite comfortable, for there 
was not a dollar among us. . . . We soon found 
the Doctor in a small room he called his office. 
. . . We then made know^n to him our wants. 
We w^ere all out of provisions." McLoughlin 
offered to supply provisions at the fort for 
their immediate necessity. "Several of our 
party broke in, saying: 'Doctor, I have no 
mone}' to pay you, and I don't know when or 
how I can pay 3'ou. ' ' Tut, tut, never mind that ; 
you can't suffer,' said the Doctor. He then 
commenced at the head man saying, 'Your 
name, if you please ; how many in the family, 



52 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

and what do you desire?' Upon receiving an 
answer, the Doctor w^rote an order, directing 
him where to go and have it filled ; then called 
up the next man, and so on until we were all 
supplied. . . . Such was the case with every 
boat-load, and all those who came by land down 
the train. . . . We did not know that every dol- 
lar's worth of provisions, etc., he gave us, all 
advice and assistance in every shape was against 
the positive orders of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany. ... In this connection I am sorry to 
say that thousands of dollars virtually loaned 
by him to settlers at different times in those 
earl}^ dajs were never paid, as an examination 
of his books and papers will amply testify." 

6. Provisions Furnished to 3,000 Immigrants in 1845, 

In 1845, about three thousand people came 
to Oregon. There was quite as much destitu- 
tion among the new arrivals as there had been 
during the preceding year. Mrs. Perry, wdio 
lived at St. Helens, Ore., was one of the immi- 
grants of 1845. She informed the present 
Avriter that the company became destitute of 
provisions long before they reached Oregon. 
Fortunately, in those days the countless buf- 
faloes that ranged the plains furnished means 
of sustenance. Mrs. Perry continued: ''No 
food ever tasted better than the buffalo meat 



THE AMERICAN IMMIGRATION 53 

dried in the dust as it hung on strings on the 
side of the immigrant wagon. When the lower 
Cascades were reached w^e were met by a bateau 
sent by Dr. McLoughlin with provisions for the 
party. Each family was supplied wnth flour 
enough for one baking." Another pioneer of 
1845, who has left an account of the arrival of 
the party in Oregon, was Stephen Staats. ''On 
our arrival (at Oregon City)," said Mr. Staats, 
in his address before the Oregon Pioneer As- 
sociation in 1877, "those of us in advance were 
kindly and hospitably received by old Dr. Mc- 
Loughlin. He immediately furnished us with 
provisions, without money and without price." 
The immigration of 1845 is the last with which 
we are concerned here. Before the arrival of 
the immigrants the following year, IMcLough- 
lin's resignation from the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany had taken effect. 

7. Two Important Considerations. 

In forming any adequate estimate of the 
assistance rendered by McLoughlin to the early 
immigrants, two facts must be borne in mind, 
namely, that his action was in direct opposi- 
tion to the policy of his Company, and that 
while he was performing these works of kind- 
ness he was aware that members of the Metho- 
dist Mission were trying to rob him of his ex- 

5 



54 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

tensive land claim at Oregon City. Of this 
injustice we shall speak presently. In answer 
to the question whether the secular depart- 
ment of the Methodist Mission assisted the 
early immigrants in a way similar to what was 
done by Dr. McLoughlin, Mr. Holman writes 
(page 89) : ''If so, I have found no trace nor 
record of it. Undoubtedly Methodist mission- 
aries, individually, did many kindly acts to des- 
titute immigrants. Had Dr. McLoughlin acted 
with the supineness of the Methodist Mission 
towards the immigrants of 1843, 1844 and 1845, 
and especially that of 1843, the consequences 
would have been terrible," 

8. McLoughlin's Resignation. 

The Hudson's Bay Company, as has been 
said, was opposed to the humanitarianism dis- 
played by Dr. McLoughlin. In 1845 Capt. 
Warre and Lieut. Vavasour, of the British 
army, were sent to Oregon to make a military 
report of the condition of the country. They 
remained in the neighborhood of Vancouver 
for some time and were present when Mc- 
Loughlin succored the American immigrants of 
1845. They also learned how he had given as- 
sistance to the settlers of preceding years, and 
they charged him in their report with being 
unfaithful to his country and to his company. 



THE AMERICAN IMMIGRATION 55 

As regards the claims of England, it will be 
remembered that the Oregon Country during 
McLoughlin^s administration was in a condi- 
tion of Joint Occupancy as provided by the 
Convention of 1818 between our country and 
G-reat Britain. Consequently American citi- 
zens in the Oregon Country had precisely the 
same rights as had British subjects. The Hud- 
son's Bay Company had, indeed, a monopoly 
of the fur trade from the British government, 
but with the express stipulation that Ameri- 
can traders should not be interferred with. 
The special advantages of the Company had 
enabled it to maintain a practical monopoly 
in Oregon for a quarter of a century, and it 
naturally enough came to regard the Ameri- 
cans as trespassing on its private reserves. Dr. 
McLoughlin answered the charge in a dignified 
manner. He pointed out that his action was 
for the best interests of the Company; he had 
neither the right nor the powder to drive the 
Americans out of the territory; consequently 
he did his best to prevent them from becom- 
ing idle and dangerous to the Company. He 
admitted giving assistance to the early immi- 
grants, saving the lives and property of the 
sick and destitute, and of making it possible 
for the settlers to raise a crop for themselves 
and for the next year's immigrants, instead of 



56 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

permitting them to become dependent on the 
Company for support. ''If we had not done 
this," said he, ''Vancouver would have been 
destroyed and the world would have judged us 
treated as our inhuman conduct deserved; 
every officer of the Company, from the Gov- 
ernor down, would have been covered with 
obloquy, the Company's business in this de- 
partment w^ould have been ruined, and the 
trouble w^hich would have arisen in conse- 
quence would have probably involved the Brit- 
ish and American nations in w^ar. If I have 
been the means, by my measures of arresting 
any of these evils, I shall be amply repaid by 
the approbation of my conscience." 

Sir George Simpson, who was Governor-in- 
Chief of the Hudson's Ba.y Company, criticised 
McLoughlin very severely for assisting the 
Americans. The correspondence became very 
bitter. McLoughlin declared that no person 
possessed of common humanity could do other- 
wise than he had done. This brought back the 
command from Simpson to render no more as- 
sistance to the immigrants under any circum- 
stances. McLoughlin replied with his resigna- 
tion: "If such is your order I will serve you 
no longer." That w^as in 1845. Twelve months 
had to elapse before the resignation became 
effective. In 1846 he retired to Oregon Citv 



THE AMERICAN IMMIGRATION 57 

to pass his remaining days on the land claim 
he had taken up as early as 1829. As Chief 
Factor he had received $12,000 annually and 
despite the loss of many thousand dollars 
through the fault of the early immigrants, he 
was still a wealthy man for those days. He 
looked forward to a peaceful and happy old 
age in his new home. But he was destined to 
bitter disappointment in his hopes. 




DR. JOHN McLOUGHLIN-" Father of OREGON" 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE MACEDONIAN CRY. 

1. Canadian Fur-Traders Spread the Faith. 

The first tidings of the Catholic faith reached 
the Oregon Indians through the trappers of the 
various fur-trading companies who had learned 
their religion from the pioneer missionaries of 
Quebec and Montreal. Canadian voyageurs 
formed a large element in the expeditions 
of Lewis and Clark in 1805 and of John Jacob 
Astor in 1811. This latter expedition espe- 
cially, which resulted in establishing at the 
mouth of the Columbia the first white settle- 
ment in Oregon, the present flourishing city 
of Astoria, was accompanied by a number 
of Catholic Canadians, who became the first 
settlers in the Willamette Valley. The piety of 
these voyageurs may be seen in the rather un- 
usual fact that the early missionaries on their 
arrival found a church already erected. 

2. Iroquois Indians Carry Catholic Faith. 

Another agency instrumental in bringing the 
faith to the Far West was the Iroquois In- 
dians. These Indians, among whose tribe the 
seeds of faith had been sown at an early date by 
Father Jogues, were in the employ of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company at its various forts. The 



60 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

trappers and Iroquois told the tribes of Oregon 
of the religion of the black-robes, taught them 
the simple praA'ers they remembered, inculcated 
the observance of Sunday and aroused among 
them a great desire to receive the ministrations 
of the black-robes. An Iroquois named Ignace 
became a veritable apostle to the Flatheads. 
Such was the effect of his teachings and exam- 
ple that the Flatheads, together with their 
neighbors, the Nez Perces sent a deputation to 
St. Louis in 1831 to ask for priests. (See note 
at end of chapter.) 

3. Deputation Goes to St. Louis. 

It was to St. Louis rather than to IMontreal that 
the Indians turned for assistance, for since the 
days of the great travelers, Lewis and Clark, 
the traders had renewed their relations annually 
wdth that city. The deputation consisted of 
four Indians. They found Clark still living in 
St. Louis. Two of the company took sick and 
died after receiving baptism and the last sacra- 
ments. The return of the remaining members 
of the deputation is uncertain. They had re- 
peated the Macedonian cry, '*Come over and 
help us." The Catholic missionary forces were 
too weak to respond at once to the appeal. But 
the presence of the Indians in St. Louis from far 
distant Oregon on such a mission was the occa- 



THE MACEDONIAN CRY 61 

sion of a movement with far-reaching results. 
The incident was given publicity in the Protes- 
tant religious press, and aroused wonderful en- 
thusiasm and set on foot perhaps the most re- 
markable missionary campaign in the history 
of this country ; a campaign which was fraught 
with important consequences for Oregon. The 
Methodists came in 1834 under the leadership 
of Jason Lee (Chap. 2), and Dr. Whitman 
with Spalding and Gray, of the American 
Board Mission, arrived at Vancouver in 1836. 

4. Young Ignace Meets DeSmet. 

But to return to our Flatheads. In 1835 the 
Flathead chief. Insula, went to the Green River 
rendezvous to meet those whom he was in- 
formed were the black-gowns. Much to his 
disappointment he met, not the priests, but Dr. 
Whitman and Rev. Mr. Parker, of the American 
Board. On reporting his ill-success it was de- 
termined that the old Iroquois Ignace and his 
two sons should go in search of missionaries. 
They met Bishop Rosati at St. Louis, but were 
unsuccessful in their quest. Nothing daunted, 
they renewed the attempt, and a deputation 
under young Ignace again reached St. Louis in 
1839. It was on this occasion that DeSmet 
came into view for the first time. Young Ig- 
nace and his companions paused at Council 



62 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

Bluffs to visit the priests at St. Joseph Mis- 
sion, where Father DeSmet was stationed. De- 
Smet gives us the following record of the 
meeting : 

^'On the 18th of last September two Catholic 
Iroquois came to visit us. They had been tor 
twenty-three years among the nations called the 
Flatheads and Pierced Noses about a thousand 
Flemish leagues from where we are. I have 
never seen any savages so fervent in religion. 
By their instructions and example they have 
given all that nation a great desire to have 
themselves baptized. All that tribe strictly ob- 
serve Sunday and assemble several times a week 
to pray and sing canticles. The sole object of 
these good Iroquois Avas to obtain a priest to 
come and finish what they had happily com- 
menced. We gave them letters of recommenda- 
tion for our Eeverend Father Superior at St. 
Louis." Father DeSmet could scarcely have 
hoped that it should be his privilege to receive 
these children of the forest, who so greatly 
interested him, into the fold of Christ. 

5. Indian Missions Confided to Jesuits. 

Meanwhile certain other events occurred that 
affected the Oregon Indians. In 1833 the sec- 
ond Provincial Council of Baltimore petitioned 
that the Indian missions of the United States 



THE MACEDONIAN CRY 63 

be confided to the care of the Society of Jesus. 
In July of the following year the Holy See ac- 
ceded to the request. Hence, when the depu- 
tation of Indians visited St. Louis and obtained 
from Bishop Rosati the promise of missionaries, 
it was to the Jesuit Fathers that the Bishop turn- 
ed for volunteers. In a letter to the Father Gen- 
eral of the Society in Rome under date of Octo- 
ber 20, 1839, Bishop Rosati relates in detail the 
story of the various journeys of the Indians in 
search of the black-robes and gives us the fol- 
lowing interesting account of young Ignace and 
his companion, Pierre Gaucher : 

"At last, a third deputation of Indians ar- 
rived at St. Louis after a long Yojage of three 
months. It is composed of two Christian Iro- 
quois. These Indians, who talk French, have 
edified us by their truly exemplary conduct and 
interested us by their discourse. The fathers 
of the college have heard their confessions, and 
today they approached the holy table at my 
Mass in the Cathedral church. Afterwards I 
administered to them the sacrament of Con- 
firmation ; and in an allocution delivered after 
the ceremony, I rejoiced with them in their 
happiness and gave them the hope of soon hav- 
ing a priest. '* 



64 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

6. DeSmet Sets Out for Oregon. 

Father DeSmet, deeply impressed by the visit 
of young Ignace, offered to devote himself to 
the Indian missions. The offer was gratefully 
accepted by his Superior and by the Bishop, and 
DeSmet set out on his first trip to the Oregon 
country late in March, 1840. Past Westport 
(noAv Kansas City) he journeyed along the 
Platte River, through herds of antelope and 
buffalo, across the countr}^ of the Pawnees and 
Cheyennes to the South Pass across the Conti- 
nental Divide. Here, on the 25th of June, he 
passed from the waters tributary to the Mis- 
souri to those of the Colorado. "On the 30tli 
(of June)," says Father DeSmet, ''I came to 
the rendezvous where a band of Flatheads, who 
had been notified of my coming, were already 
waiting for me. This happened on the Green 
River, a tributary of the Colorado. It is the 
place where the beaver hunters and the savages 
of different nations betake themselves every 
year to sell their peltries and procure such 
things as they need." On the following Sun- 
day, Father DeSmet assembled the Indians and 
trappers for divine worship. In a letter dated 
February 4, 1841, he writes: "On Sunday, the 
5th of July, I had the consolation of celebrating 
the Holy Sacrifice of Mass suh dio. The altar 
was placed on an elevation, and surrounded 



THE MACEDONIAN CRY 65 

with boughs and garlands of flowers ; I ad- 
dressed the congregation in French and in Eng- 
lish and spoke also by an interpreter to the 
Flatheads and Snake Indians. It was a spec- 
tacle truly moving for the heart of a missionary 
to behold an assembly composed of so many dif- 
ferent nations, who all assisted at our holy 
mysteries with great satisfaction. The Cana- 
dians sang hymns in French and Latin, and the 
Indians in their native tongue. It was truly a 
Catholic worship. This place has been called 
since that time, by the French Canadians, la 
prairie de la Messe." 

7. In the Land of the Shoshones. 

DeSmet was now in the land of the Shoshone 
or Snake Indians. Three hundred of their war- 
riors came into camp at full gallop. DeSmet 
was invited to a council of some thirty of the 
principal chiefs. ''I explained to them," he 
writes, "the Christian doctrines in a compen- 
dious manner. They were all very attentive ; 
they then deliberated among themselves for 
about half an hour and one of the chiefs, ad- 
dressing me in the name of the others, said : 
'Black-gown, the words of thy mouth have 
found their way to our hearts; they will never 
be forgotten.' I advised them to select among 
themselves a wise and prudent man, who, every 



66 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

morning and evening, should assemble them to 
offer to Almighty God their prayers and suppli- 
cations. The meeting was held the very same 
evening, and the great chief promulgated a law 
that for the future the one who would be guilty 
of theft, or of other disorderly act, should re- 
ceive a public castigation." This was the only 
occasion on which Father DeSmet met the 
Snake Indians. His subsequent trips to Oregon 
were, with one exception, by a different route. 

8. Fervor of the Flatheads. 

After spending a week at the Green River 
rendezvous. Father DeSmet and his Flathead 
guides, together with a dozen Canadians, started 
northward across the mountains which separate 
the headwaters of the Colorado from those of 
the Columbia. They crossed the historic Te- 
ton's Pass and came to the beautiful valley at 
the foot of the three Tetons, of which Father 
DeSmet has left a striking description. In this 
valley they found the camp of the Flatheads 
and of their neighbors, the Pend d'Oreilles, 
numbering about 1,600 persons. DeSmet de- 
scribes the affecting scenes of his meeting with 
these children of the wilderness : ' ^ The poles 
were already up for my lodge, and at my ap- 
proach, men, women and children came all 
together to meet me and shake hands and bid 



THE MACEDONIAN CRY 67 

-me welcome. The elders wept with joy, while 
the young men expressed their satisfaction by 
. leaps and shouts of happiness. These good sav- 
ages led me to the lodge of the old chief, called 
in his language, 'Big Face.' He had a truly 
patriarchal aspect and received me in the midst 
of his whole council with the liveliest cordiality. 
Then I had a long talk on religion with these 
honest folk. I set a schedule of spiritual exer- 
cises for them, particularly for the morning and 
evening prayers in common and for hours of 
instruction. 

''One of the chiefs at once brought me a bell 
to give the signals, and' on the first evening I 
gathered all the people about my lodge; I said 
the evening prayers, and finally they sang to- 
gether, in a harmony which surprised me very 
much, several songs of their own composition 
on the praise of God. This zeal for prayer 
and instruction (and I preached to them regu- 
larly four times a day) instead of declining, 
increased up to the time of my departure." 

DeSmet was wholly astonished at their fervor 
and regularity at religious exercises. In speak- 
ing of this subject on another occasion he ex- 
claims: "Who would not think that this could 
only be found in a well-ordered and religious 
community, and yet it is among the Indians in 
the defiles and valleys of the Rocky Moun- 



68 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

tains." He was likewise astonished at the inno- 
cence of their lives, and he has left pages of 
writing in which he extols their virtues, and 
their docility. It would be difficult to find a 
parallel in the history of Christian missions for 
this rapid and permanent transformation of a 
savage tribe into a Christian community with 
morning and evening prayers in common. 

9. At the Continental Divide. 

The camp gradually moved up the Henry 
Fork of the Snake River to Lake Henry, one of 
the sources of the Columbia River. Here De- 
Smet climbed the mountain of the Continental 
Divide, whence he was able to see Red Rock 
Lake, the ultimate source of the Missouri. 
''The two lakes," he writes, ''are scarce eight 
miles apart. I started for the summit of a high 
mountain for the better examination of the two 
fountains that gave birth to these two great 
rivers ; I saw them falling in cascades from an 
immense height ; hurling themselves with up- 
roar from rock to rock ; even at their source 
they formed two mighty torrents, scarcely more 
than a hundred paces apart. The Fathers of the 
Company who are in missionary service on the 
banks of the Mississippi, from Council Bluffs 
to the Gulf of Mexico, came to my mind." And 
his heart went out to the nations on the banks 



THE MACEDONIAN CRY 69 

of the Columbia to whom the faith of Christ 
was yet to be preached. There he engraved on 
a soft stone, this inscription: ''Sanctus Igna- 
tius, Patronus Montium, Die Julii 23, 1840." 

After two months among the Flatheads, De- 
Smet determined to return to St. Louis for 
assistance. He appointed a chief to take his 
place, to preside over the devotions and to bap- 
tize the children. He was accompanied bj^ 
thirty warriors, among whom was the famous 
chief, Insula, whose futile trip to the rendezvous 
on the Green River in 1835 we have already 
mentioned. Father DeSmet reached St. Louis 
University on the last day of the year, 1840. 
His first missionary journey to the nations of 
the Oregon country had been accomplished and, 
like another Paul, he returned rehearsing all 
the things that God had done with him, and 
how he had opened a door of faith to the 
nations. 



Note to Chapter VII., par. 2. 

"Bonneville, Chap, X, mentions this band of Iroquois 
and also the piety of the Flatheads. and in Chap. XLV 
Irving not only quotes Bonneville's but also Wj'eth's 
testimony as to the observance by the Nez Perees of the 
religious (Catholic) services they had learned from the 
Hudson's Bay Company traders, especially Pambrun at 
Fort Walla Walla and from these Iroquois. Wyeth's 
Journal (published by the Oregon Histoiical Society), also 
states the same thing more fully than Irving's Bonne- 
ville," p. 11. This was before any missionaries had gone 
to either tribe. 

Father Palladino says that somewhere between 1812 
6 



70 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

and 1820 a band of about twenty-four Iroquois from the 
Caughnawaga Mission near Montreal wandered into and 
across the Rocky Mountains as far west as the Flat- 
head Valley in what is now Northwest Montana, and 
being pleased with the country and with the Selish or 
Flathead tribe, concluded to remain there and inter- 
marry with them. The leader of this band was Ignace 
La Mousse, better known among the Indians as Big 
Ignace or Old Ignace. He became prominent among the 
Flatheads and being a zealous Catholic taught them 
what he could of that faith and excited among them so 
strong a desire for "Black Robes" that in the spring of 
1831 a deputation of two Flatheads and two Nez Perces 
started to St. Louis to obtain priests and arrived there 
in the autumn of 1831." Marshall, Vol. 2, p. 11. 

NOTE TO CHAPTER VII, PAR. 3. 

SEARCH FOR THE WHITE-MAN'S BOOK OF HEAVEN 
(According to Spalding and Barrows.) 
Spalding begins the story (Sen. Ex. Doc. No. 37, 41st 
Cong., 3d Sess., on p. 8): "The Flatheads and Nez 
Perces had determined to send four of their number to 
the 'Rising Sun' for that Book from Heaven. They had 
got word of the Bible and a Saviour in some way from 
the Iroquois. . . . They fell into the hands of General 
Clark. He was a Romanist and took them to his church 
and to entertain them to the theatre. How utterly he 
failed to meet their wants is revealed in the sad words 
with which they departed." Then Barrows (History of 
Oregon puts in quotation marks, as if its authenticity 
were undoubted, the following speech: " 'I came to you 
over a trail of many moons from the setting sun. You 
were the friend of my fathers who have all gone the 
long way. I came with one eye partly opened, for more 
light for my people, who sit in darkness. I go back 
with both eyes closed. How can I go back blind to 
my blind people? I made my way to you with strong 
arms, through many enemies and strange lands, that I 
might carry back much to them. I go back with both 
arms broken and empty. The two fathers who came 
with us — the braves of many winters and wars — ^we leave 
asleep here by your great water and wigwam. They 
were tired in many moons, and their moccasins wore out. 
My people sent me to get the white man's Book of 



THE MACEDONIAN CRY 71 

Heaven. You took me whei-e you allow j"our women to 
dance, as we do not ours, and the Book was not there. 
You took me where they worship the Great Spirit with 
candles, and the Book w'as not there. You showed me 
the images of good spirits and pictures of the good land 
beyond, but the Book was not among them to tell us the 
way. I am going back the long, sad trail to my people 
of the dark land. You make my feet heavy with bur- 
dens of gifts, and my moccasins will grow old in carry- 
ing them, but the Book is not among them. When 1 
tell my poor, blind people, after one more snow, in the 
big council, that I did not bring the Book, no word will 
be spoken by our old men or by our young braves. One 
by one they will rise up and go out in silence. My people 
will die in darkness, and they will go on the long path 
to the other hunting grounds. No white man will go 
with them and no white man's Book to make the way 
plain. I have no more words.' " 

Marshall who has thoroughly exploded these claims of 
Spalding and Barrows, refers to the above as "the 
ridiculously improbable speech in which these half-naked 
savages, just emerging from the stone age of humanity 
are made to talk of the Bible and of the ceremonial of 
the Catholic Church "where they worship the Great Spirit 
with candles," etc., precisely as a very narrow minded 
and intensely bigoted evangelical Protestant would do. 
It is as incredible that these Indians could have delivered 
any such speech as this, as it is that wild, uneducated 
Apaches or Hottentots or Esquimaux could intelligently 
discuss the relative merits of Buddhism and Christianity, 
or write an entertaining and instructive essay on the 
doctrine of Evolution." Vol. 2, page 16. 

"Not a trace of that impossible 'farewell speech' of 
the Flatheads to General Clark has ever been produced 
in print or in manuscript of an earlier date than Feb- 
ruary 16th, 1866," page 18. 

Marshall has discovered that Clark was not only not a 
Catholic but was a prominent Mason. But facts were 
never a concern with the authors of the Whitman story. 

The true account of the coming of the Indians to 
St. Louis was given by Bishop Rosati, December 31st, 
1831, to the editor of "The Annales de L' Association de 
la Propagation de la Foi" of Lyons, France. We have 
embodied the substance of it in the narrative of the 
preceding chapter. 



72 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

PAMBRUN'S INFLUENCE. 

NOTE. — Capt. Bonneville foi;nd that the Nez Perces 
refused to hunt with him on Sunday, saying that, "it was 
a sacred day and the Great Spirit would be angry if they 
devoted it to hunting." On his arrivel at Walla Walla, 
Pambrun informed Bonneville, says Irving, that "he 
(Pambrun) had been at some pains to introduce the 
Christian religion, and in the Roman Catholic form, 
among them, where it had evidently taken root .... 
retaining the principal points of faith and its entire pre- 
cepts of morality." 

"Polygamy, which once prevailed among them to a 
great extent, was now rarely indulged. All the crimes 
denounced by the Christian faith met with severe pun- 
ishment among them." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN MISSION. 
1. Courtesy of Hudson's Bay Company Officials. 

On the feast of the Assumption, 1841, Father 
DeSmet had again penetrated the Oregon coun- 
try as far as Fort Hall, on the Snake River. 
Fort Hall occupied a large place in early Ore- 
gon history. It was built by Nathaniel Wyeth, 
in 1834. Wyeth sold it to the Hudson's Bay 
Company two years later, and consequently at 
the time of DeSmet 's visit it was under the 
direction of Dr. John McLoughlin, Chief Factor 
of the Hudson's Bay Company in Oregon. The 
local agent, Ermatinger, was prominent in the 
service of the Company, and his courtesy and 
generosity to DeSmet were only typical of the 
treatment accorded to the Catholic mission- 
aries by the gentlemen of the Hudson's Ba}' 
Company at all of their forts during the Mc- 
Loughlin regime. DeSmet speaks of Ermatin- 
ger in the following terms: '' Although a 
Protestant by birth, this noble En^ishman 
gave us a most friendly reception. Not 
only did he repeatedly invite us to his table, 
and sell us at first cost, or at one-third of its 
value, in a country so remote, whatever we re- 
quired ; but he. also added as pure gifts many 
articles which he believed would be particu- 



74 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

larly acceptable — lie assured us that he would 
second our ministry among the populous nation 
of the Snakes, with whom he had frequent inter- 
course." 

2. Foundation of Bitter Root Mission. 

When Father DeSmet met the Flatheads at 
Port Hall on this occasion, he was better pre- 
pared to minister to their needs than on his 
former journey. He was accompanied by two 
priests and three brothers. The priests are well 
known in the early annals of Oregon. They 
were Fathers Nicholas Point and Gregory Men- 
garini. DeSmet had been successful, too, in 
securing financial aid for his missions. Tlie 
Bishops and clergy of the dioceses of Phil- 
adelphia and New Orleans had responded very 
generously to his appeal. On reaching the Bit- 
ter Root Valley, the home of the Flathead tribe, 
DeSmet was thus enabled to lay the founda- 
tions of a permanent mission. He chose a loca- 
tion on the banks of the Bitter Root River, 
about twenty-eight miles above its mouth, be- 
tween the site of old Fort Owen and the present 
town of Stevensville. St. Mary's Mission has 
had an eventful history. In 1850 it was closed 
temporarily, the improvements being leased to 
Major John Owen. Not until September, 1866, 
was the mission re-opened in charge of the ven- 



THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN MISSION 75 

erated Father Kavalli. It is today a point of 
interest for the sightseer in the Bitter Root Val- 
ley. 

3. Tribes of Northern Idaho Seek Aid. 

While the work of establishing the mission 
was in progress, Father DeSmet received a del- 
egation from the Coeur d'Alene nation. They 
had heard of his arrival among the Flatheads, 
and came to request his services. ''Father," 
said one of them to him, *Sve are truly deserv- 
ing of your pity. We wish to serve the Great 
Spirit, but we know not how. We want some 
one to teach us. For this reason we make ap- 
plication to you." Their wish was granted, and 
the little tribe received the Christian religion 
with the same zeal and devotion that the Flat- 
heads had displayed. The Pend d'Oreilles, too, 
a numerous tribe who dwelt in what is now 
northern Idaho, welcomed the missionaries, as 
also did the Nez Perces. Father DeSmet had 
little hope of converting the Blackfeet. ''They 
are the only Indians," he writes, "of whose sal- 
vation we would have reason to despair if the 
ways of God were the same as those of men, for 
they are murderers, thieves, traitors, and all 
that is wicked." Father Point established a 
mission among them, but the Blackfeet are pa- 
gans even to this day. 



76 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

4. Obstacles and Problems Incident to Work. 

In establishing the Rocky Mountain missions, 
Father DeSmet and his companions had con- 
stant recourse to the experience of the Jesuit 
missionaries among the Indians of Paraguay. 
He expressly states that he made a Vade IMecum 
of the Narrative of Muratori, the historian of 
the Paraguay missions. The field west of the 
Rocky Mountains suggested to him many simi- 
larities with that among the native races of 
South America. The only obstacle to conver- 
sion in the one case as in the other, was the 
introduction of the vices of the whites. That 
alone stood in the way of the ultimate civiliza- 
tion of the natives. DeSmet refers to his mis- 
sions as ' 'reductions," a name borrowed from 
the South American system where it refers to 
the settlements which the missionaries induced 
their nomadic neophytes to adopt. He directed 
Father Point to draw up plans for the mission 
stations in conformity Avith the plans formerly 
adopted in the missions of Paraguay and de- 
scribed in detail by IMuratori. 

One of the problems that DeSmet had to meet 
at the outset, was that of Indian marriages. He 
acted on the principle that there were no valid 
marriages among the savages, and alleges the 
following reasons: ''We have not found one, 
even among the best disposed, who after mar- 



THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN MISSION 77 

riage has been contracted in their own fashion, 
did not believe himself justified in sending 
away his first wife whenever he thought fit and 
taking another. ]\Iany even have several wives 
at the same time. We are then agreed on this 
principle, that among them, even to the present 
time, there has been no marriage, because they 
have never known well in what its essence and 
obligation consisted." Consequently, immedi- 
ately after the ceremony of baptism, the mar- 
riage ceremony was performed, after the neces- 
sary instruction had been given. This pro- 
cedure gave rise to various interesting situa- 
tions. ''Many who had two wives have retained 
her whose children were the most numerous, 
and with all possible respect dismissed the 
other." Father DeSmet tells of one savage who 
followed his advice and dismissed his youngest 
wife, giving her what he would have wished 
another to give to his sister, if in the same situ- 
ation, and was reunited to his first wife whom 
he had forsaken. 

5. DeSmet at Fort Colvile. 

During the closing months of 1841, DeSmet 
undertook a journey from the Bitter Root Val- 
ley to Fort Colvile on the Columbia. On All 
Saints Day he met two encampments of the 
Kalispel nation, who were to be a great conso- 



78 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

lation to the missionary. The chief of the first 
camp was the famous Chalax. Although they 
had never seen a priest before, they knew all 
the prayers DeSmet had taught the Flatheads. 
This is a striking illustration of the religious 
sentiment among the Oregon Indians of the in- 
terior. Their knowledge of these prayers is 
thus explained by DeSmet: ''They had dep- 
uted an intelligent young man, who was gifted 
with a good memory, to meet me. Having 
learned the praj^ers and canticles and such 
points as were most essential for salvation, he 
repeated to the village all that he had heard 
and seen. It was, as you can easily imagine, a 
great consolation for me to see the sign of the 
cross and hear prayers addressed to the great 
God and His praises sung in a desert of about 
three hundred miles extent, where a Catholic 
priest had never been before." 

6. A Letter of Mrs. Whitman. 

The Kalispels had been visited during the 
summer by ministers who had attempted to dis- 
affect the minds of the savages toward the 
Catholic missionaries. The Indians' natural and 
instinctive reverence for the black-robe, how- 
ever, soon overcame the prejudice instilled by 
the hostile ministers. Interesting light is 
thrown on the missionary situation at this time 



THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN MISSION 79 

by a private letter of the wife of the leader of 
the American Board Mission. Mrs. Whitman, 
writing in 1842, and faithfully reflecting the 
sentiments of her husband, considered that the 
interests of the Oregon country hung in the 
balance with the ''prosperity of the cause of 
Christ on the one hand and the extension of the 
powers and dominions of Romanism on the 
other." She continues: ''Romanism stalks 
abroad on our right hand and on our left, and 
with daring effrontery, boasts that she is to pre- 
vail and possess the land. I ask, must it be so 1 
The zeal and energy of her priests are without 
a parallel, and many, both white men and In- 
dians, wander after the beasts. Two are in the 
country below us and two are above in the 
mountains." The priests below at Vancouver 
were Fathers Blanchet and Demers; those above 
were DeSmet and Point. Narcissa Whitman 
bears striking testimony to their zeal and en- 
ergy. With this letter before us we shall not 
be surprised to learn that when Dr. Whitman 
and his wife were massacred by the Indians in 
1847, his co-workers were in a temper to lay the 
blame for the outrage at the door of the Cath- 
olic missionaries. 



80 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

7. At Lake Pend d'Oreille. 

Father DeSmet's journey to Fort Colvile led 
him past the beautiful Lake Pend d'Oreille and 
the magnificent forest at its head. He was an 
ardent lover of nature and the record he has left 
of his impressions on beholding this splendid 
scene is typical of his many descriptions of na- 
ture. ''At the head of Lake Pend d'Oreille," 
he writes, 'Sve traversed a forest which is cer- 
tainly a w^onder of its kind ; there is probablj^ 
nothing similar to it in America. The birch, elm 
and beech, generally small elsewhere, like the 
toad of La Fontaine that aimed at being as 
large as the ox, sw-ell out here to twice their 
size. They would fain rival the cedar, the Go- 
liath of the forest, who, however, looking down 
with contempt upon his pitiful companions, 

'Eleve aux cieux 
Son front audacieux.' 

The birch and the beech at its side, resemble large 
candelabra around a massive column. Cedars 
of four and five fathoms in circumference are 
here very common. The delicate branches of 
these noble trees entwine themselves above the 
beech and elm ; their fine, dense and evergreen 
foliage forming an arch through which the sun's 
rays never penetrate ; and this lofty arch, sup- 
ported by thousands of columns, brought to the 



THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN MISSION 81 

mind's eye the idea of an immense temple 
reared by the hand of nature to the glory of its 
author." 

He reached Fort Colvile about the middle of 
November, and received a very hearty welcome 
from the commandant, Archibald Macdonald. 
Fort Colvile was one of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany's stations. Macdonald had been in the 
employ of the company for many years, having 
founded Fort Nesqually, until recently the nom- 
inal seat of the present Catholic diocese of Se- 
attle. The reception given to DeSmet at Fort 
Hall was repeated at Fort Colvile, and our mis- 
sionary voices the general sentiment of his co- 
workers when he takes occasion of Macdonald 's 
hospitality to write, "Whenever one finds the 
gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Company, one 
is sure of a good reception. Thej^ do not stop 
with demonstrations of politeness and affabil- 
ity ; they anticipate your wishes in order to be 
of service to you." The record is the same at 
Forts Vancouver and Hall, Colvile and Nes- 
qually, O'kanogan and Walla Walla, and the 
rest. No doubt the influence of Dr. McLoughlin 
was the determining factor in the attitude of 
the Company. 

EFFECTIVENESS OF CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES. 

NOTE. — To the effectiveness of the work of the Catho- 
lic missionaries, the author of the "History of Washing- 
ton" bears the following testimony (Vol. II, p. 167): 



82 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

"The Catholic missionaries acquired and retained over 
the native population west of the Rocky Mountains a far 
more perfect control than the Protestant missionaries 
were ever able to secure. Dissensions such as disturbed 
the harmony of the other missions were among them im- 
possible. Secular matters never diverted the priests 
from their work. As soon as they were sufficiently numer- 
ous an ecclesiastical superior was appointed to have 
charge and direct their work, and his authority was su- 
preme. . . . 

"The zealous priests, always rendering implicit obedi- 
ence to their ecclesiastical head, troubled themselves 
about nothing that did not concern the work they were 
sent to do. They everywhere met a welcome from the 
Indians such as was rarely given to the Protestants. 
The 'black-gowns,' as the Indians called them, were al- 
ways popular." 



CHAPTER IX. 

REINFORCEMENTS FROM EUROPE. 

1. At the Coeur d'Alene Camp. 

Retiiriiiiig to his mission in the Bitter Root 
Valley, in December, 1841, with the provisions 
and implements secured at Fort Colvile, Father 
DeSmet spent the winter among his Flathead 
neophytes. In April, of the following year, he 
set out on his first visit to Fort Vancouver and 
the Willamette Valley, a journey of a thousand 
miles. In the course of his travel on this occa- 
sion he evangelized whole villages of Kootenais, 
Kalispels, Coeur d'Alenes, Spokanes and Okan- 
ogans, establishing in almost every case the 
practice of morning and evening prayers in 
each village. He found the Coeur d'Alene 
camp at the outlet of the great lake which bears 
their name. The entire camp turned out to 
welcome him. An extract from one of his let- 
ters will show how eagerly they listened to his 
words: '^I spoke to them for two hours on 
salvation and the end of man's creation, and 
not one person stirred from his place during 
the whole time of instruction. As it was almost 
sunset, I recited the praj^ers I had translated 
into their language a few days before. At their 
own request I then continued instructing the 
chiefs and their people until the night was far 



84 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

advanced. About every half hour I paused, and 
then the pipes would pass round to refresh the 
listeners and give time for reflection." Never 
did DeSmet experience so much satisfaction 
among the Indians as on this occasion, and no- 
where were his efforts crowned with greater 
and more permanent success. The Coeur 
d'Alenes have still the reputation of being the 
best and most industrious Indians in the Rocky 
]\Iountains. 

2. Meeting of Fathers Blanchet and DeSmet. 

The journey from Fort Col vile to Fort Van- 
couvei* was marred by an unfortunate accident. 
At one of the rapids of the Columbia, the barge 
containing DeSmet 's effects capsized, and all 
the crew, save three, were drowned. Providen- 
tially, Father DeSmet had gone ashore, intend- 
ing to walk along the bank while the bargemen 
directed the boat through the rapids. After 
brief visits at Forts Okanogan and Walla 
Walla, he hastened on to Vancouver, where he 
received a most affecting welcome from the 
pioneer Catholic missionaries of the Oregon 
country, Blanchet and Demers. The latter has 
related how Blanchet and DeSmet ran to meet 
each other, both prostrating themselves, each 
begging the other's blessing. It was a meeting 
fraught with important consequences for the 
Catholic Church in Oregon. 



REINFORCEMENTS FROM EUROPE 85 

3. Missionary Conference at Vancouver. 

In his Historical Sketches, Archbishop Blan- 
chet gives us a few details in addition to those 
mentioned in DeSmet's Letters, from which it 
appears that Father Demers met the Jesuit mis- 
sionary at Fort Vancouver and conducted him 
to the residence of the Vicar General at St. 
Paul. DeSmet returned to Vancouver Avith 
Father Demers, followed a few days later by 
Father Blanchet, " to deliberate on the inter- 
ests of the great mission of the Pacific Coast." 
At the conference it Avas decided that Father 
Demers should proceed to open a mission in 
New Caledonia (now British Columbia), leav- 
ing the Vicar General at St. Paul, while DeSmet 
should start for St. Louis and Belgium in quest 
of more workers and material assistance for the 
missions of Oregon. Dr. ^IcLoughlin, though 
not yet a Catholic, strongly encouraged Father 
DeSmet to make every effort to increase the 
number of Catholic missionaries. On June 30, 
1842, DeSmet bade farewell to his new friends 
at Fort Vancouver, and set out for the East to 
secure recruits and supplies for the Oregon mis- 
sions. 

4. DeSmet Returns with Reinforcements. 

Twenty-five months elapsed before Father 

DeSmet returned again to Fort Vancouver. 
7 



86 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

After visiting many of the chief cities of Eu- 
rope, he set sail from Antwerp on the brig, 7/i- 
fatigahle^ early in January, 1844, accompanied 
by four Fathers and a lay brother of the Society, 
and six Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. The 
Irhfatigable rounded Cape Horn on the 20th of 
March, 1844, and came in sight of the Oregon 
coast on the 28th of July. After a terrifying 
experience they crossed the Columbia bar in 
safety on the 31st of July, the feast of St. 
Ignatius. Father DeSmet frequently refers to 
the ''divine pilotage" which brought them un- 
harmed through the shallow passage and the 
treacherous breakers. From Astoria, DeSmet 
set out for Vancouver in a canoe, leaving his 
companions to follow when a favorable wind 
would permit. He was received with open arms 
by Dr. McLoughlin and by Father Demers, who 
was planning to leave shortly for Canada to 
secure Sisters to open a school. From Father 
Demers he received the good news that the mis- 
sionaries in the Eocky Mountains had received 
a strong reinforcement from St. Louis during 
his absence. The Vicar General, Father Blan- 
chet, was at St. Paul when informed of De- 
Smet 's arrival. He immediately set out for 
Vancouver, bringing a number of his parish- 
ioners with him and traveling all night by canoe. 



REINFORCEMENTS FROM EUROPE 87 

5. Celebrate the Feast of the Assumption. 

On the eve of the feast of the Assumption, 
the newly arrived recruits for the mission left 
Fort Vancouver for St. Paul. ''Our little 
squadron," says Father DeSmet, ''consisted of 
four canoes manned by the parishioners of 
Father Blanchet, and our own sloop. We sailed 
up the river and soon entered the Willamette. 
As night approached, we moored our vessels 
and encamped upon the shore. (This must have 
been within the limits of the present city of 
Portland.) The morning's dawn found us on 
foot. It was the festival of the glorious As- 
sumption of the Mother of God. Aided by the 
nuns, I erected a small altar. Father Blanchet 
offered the Holy Sacrifice, at which all com- 
municated. Finally, the 17th, about 11 o'clock, 
we came in sight of our dear mission of Wil- 
lamette. A cart was procured to conduct the 
nuns to their dwelling, which is about five miles 
from the river. In two hours we were all as- 
sembled in the chapel of Willamette, to adore 
and thank our Divine Saviour by the solemn 
chanting of the Te Deum." 

6. St. Francis Xavier Mission Founded. 

On arriving at St. Paul, DeSmet 's first care 
was to seek a convenient location for what was 
intended to be the base of missionary activitiets 



88 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

in Oregon. The Methodists offered to sell him 
their academy, which they had decided to close. 
Ten years had passed since Jason and Daniel 
Lee fonnded the Methodist mission in the Wil- 
lamette Valley ; a large sum of money had been 
expended in the enterprise, but as an Indian 
mission it was confessedly a failure. Hence it 
was decided to suppress it and sell all the prop- 
erty in 1844. Father DeSmet, however, secured 
a more advantageous location, where he laid the 
foundations of the St. Francis Xavier Mission 
on the Willamette. 



CHAPTER X. 

DEVELOPMENTS — ECCLESIASTICAL AND 
POLITICAL. 

1. Father Demers Visits Fort Stuart. 

The lives of the missionaries were eventful 
enough during the foHowing j^ears. Father 
Demers carried the standard of the faith far 
north to Port Langley on the Frazer River. 
Missions were opened for the Indians at the 
Clackamas, Willamette Falls, (Oregon City) and 
Cascade settlements by the Vicar General, The 
work Avas growing apace. The score of estab- 
lishments from Fort Colvile on the Columbia to 
St. Paul on the Willamette and Fort Langley on 
the Frazer were taxing the strength of the two 
zealous laborers. A new field of missionary ac- 
tivity was proposed among the tribes of New 
Caledonia (British Columbia), and Father De- 
mers was dispatched to lay the foundations. 
Demers pushed north, after leaving the boats 
at Fort Walla Walla, past Fort Alexander on 
the Frazer River to Fort Stuart on Stuart Lake, 
several hundred miles north of Fort Vancouver. 
Chief Factor Peter Skeen Ogden, who, a few 
years later, succeeded McLoughlin at Vancou- 
ver and was so prominent in the rescue of the 
survivors of the Whitman massacre, was in 



90 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

charge of Fort Stuart. Mrs. Ogden^ was a 
Catholic, and through her kindness Father De- 
mers found a more hospitable welcome than he 
could have anticipated. He celebrated High 
Mass at Fort Stuart on September 16, 1842, in 
a region hitherto outside the limits of Christian- 
ity. Before the end of the year he was back to 
Fort Alexander, where he had a chapel erected 
by the Indians. In the spring of 1843 he re- 
turned to civilization in company with Chief 
Factor Ogden, riding on horseback from Fort 
Alexander through three or four feet of snow. 

2. Douglas Founds Victoria. 

In the meantime recruits had come to rejoice 
the heart and aid the labors of the Vicar Gen- 
eral. On the 17th of September, 1842, Fathers 
Langlois and Bolduc arrived at St. Paul from 
Canada via Boston and Cape Horn. On the fol- 
lowing day (Sunday) High Mass was celebrated 
with deacon and subdeacon for the first time in 
the Oregon Country. The new missionaries 
were not long in finding employment. Chief 
Factor Douglas set out in March, 1843, to found 

IThe influence of the Hudson's Bay Company's officials 
in their dealings with the Indians was due in no small 
measure to their Indian wives. This was true in the 
case of Dr. McLoughlin and even to a more notable 
degree in regard to Ogden who had married an Indian 
princess. By blood and marriage Princess Julia was re- 
lated to every important chief of the Northwest, making 
it safe for her husband to travel where no one else 
would dare to go. 



DEVELOPMENTS ECCLESIASTICAL, POLITICAL 91 

Victoria on the south end of Vancouver Island. 
He was accompanied by Father Bolduc. The 
party went to Fort Nesqually, where they took 
the steamer, Beaver, for their destination. On 
Sunday, March 19, Father Bolduc celebrated 
Mass in the presence of more than one thousand 
Indians at the newly founded Victoria, and bap- 
tized over one hundred of their children. 

3. Chapel Planned for Oregon City. 

Meanwhile the Vicar General had bought a 
lot at Willamette Falls (Oregon City), where 
he proposed that Father Langlois should build 
a chapel for the Indians. Dr. McLoughlin had 
spent the month of December, 1842, in platting 
his new townsite of Oregon City at Willamette 
Falls. Settlers began to come in rapidly, and 
the Indian congregation consequently melted 
away with even greater rapidity, much to the 
disappointment of Father Langlois. Three 
years later Oregon City was to witness the erec- 
tion of the first Cathedral in the Pacific North- 
west. 

4. Political Situation in 1840. 

While Father Blanchet was zealously direct- 
ing the spiritual affairs of the vast, territory 
committed to his care, political changes were 
taking place which brought him temporarily 



92 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

into public view. To understand his attitude 
towards the provisional government, we must 
take a hasty survey of the political situation of 
the time. The Oregon country was in a state 
of "joint occupancy;" that is, the dividing line 
between British and American possessions had 
not yet been determined, and under a conven- 
tion of 1818, again renewed in 1826, the coun- 
try was to be ''free and open to the vessels, 
citizens and subjects of the two powers." They 
were not, however, equally protected. The 
powerful Hudson's Bay Company exercised po- 
lice protection over the British subjects and the 
English Parliament had extended the Colonial 
jurisdiction and civil laws of Canada over all 
British subjects on the coast. As for the Amer- 
ican settlers, a writer has appropriately applied 
to them the words: ''In those days there w^as 
no king in Israel and everyone did whatsoever 
was right in his own eyes." In 1840 a number 
of the American emigrants addressed a petition 
to Congress asking that body to extend the pro- 
tection of American civil institutions over Ore- 
gon. 

5. Meeting to Form Provisional Government. 

There was no prospect of favorable action 
by Congress when an event occurred which 
brought the necessity of a civil government 



DEVELOPMENTS ECCLESIASTICAL, POLITICAL 93 

again before the minds of the American settlers. 
On February 15, 1841, Ewing Young, the pio- 
neer stockman of the Willamette Valley, died 
intestate. A meeting was called to settle the 
disposition of the estate. At this meeting it 
was recommended that a committee be ap- 
pointed to draft a constitution and a code of 
laws for the government of the settlement south 
of the Columbia River, and a resolution was 
passed that settlers north of the Columbia not 
connected with the Hudson's Bay Company 
might be admitted to the protection of the laws 
of the proposed government. Another meeting 
was called for the next day to elect officers and 
to select the committee. The committee ap- 
pointed on the following day was headed by 
Father Blanchet as chairman, contrary to his 
own wishes. The selection of Father Blanchet 
for this position was doubtless due to a desire 
to gain the support of the Canadian settlers for 
the proposed government, there being in the 
entire settlement at this time about one hundred 
and forty Americans and sixty Canadians. Tlie 
Canadians were, as we have said, protected by. 
the Canadian government and were in a special 
manner indebted to the Hudson's Bay Company. 
They were, for the most part, old employes of 
the Company and had received material assist- 
ance from Dr. McLoughlin since their retirement 



94 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

from service. The committee was to report at 
a meeting on June 1 following, but when the 
appointed time arrived Father Blanchet an- 
nounced that he had not called the committee 
together and asked to be excused from serving 
as chairman, not having time to devote to the 
work. For this act Father Blanchet has been 
severely handled by partisan historians of Ore- 
gon. W. H. Gray, in his so-called ''History of 
Oregon," is especially abusive. Chief Justice 
Burnett, in his manuscript Memoirs of an Old 
Pioneer (in the Bancroft Library), defends 
Blanchet 's action on the ground that he 
did not feel equal to the work which the 
committee had been set to do. It seems 
more probable, however, that Father Blanchet 
did not approve of the plan, both because of its 
small chance of success and because of the atti- 
tude of its promoters toward the Hudson's Bay 
Company. The impracticable character of the 
proposed government may be learned from the 
fact that the committee accomplished no more 
under Blanchet 's successor than it had before. 
The project was opposed by Lieutenant Wilkes, 
who was at Vancouver at this time in charge of 
the American exploring expedition on the 
Pacific. 



DEVELOPMENTS ECCLESIASTICAL, POLITICAL 95 

6. McLoughlin's Contribution to Settlement of 
Oregon Question. 

Moreover, the animus of the promoters of the 
movement doomed it to failure. Opposition to 
the Hudson's Bay Company v^as the ruling pas- 
sion with the men who were projecting the new 
government. This was obvious to Father Blan- 
chet, and his relations with Dr. McLoughlin 
made it impossible for him to concur in the 
movement. The events in Oregon from 1840 to 
1844 which laid the foundation of American 
ascendency in this region were not political 
meetings or petitions to Congress reciting 
(falsely) the tyrannous exactions of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company. American supremacy was 
established during this period by the annual in- 
flux of immigrants whose settlement in Oregon 
was made possible by the grand humanity of old 
Dr. McLoughlin, who extended over them his 
protecting hand, saving them from the savages 
and from famine, caring for their sick, furnish- 
ing them supplies of food and clothing and 
shelter for the winter and providing them with 
seed grain for the spring ; and all this, let it be 
remembered, at his own loss, contrary to the ex- 
press orders of his Company and in spite of the 
calumnies which the Americans already in the 
country were spreading concerning him. 



96 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

7. Blanchet's Attitude Toward American Govern- 
ment. 

On the occasion of the third annual reunion 
of the Oregon Pioneer Association in 1876, the 
annual address was delivered by the Hon. Mat- 
thew P. Deady. In the course of his address, 
Judge Deady, after very correctly observing 
that the Catholic missionaries were indifferent 
as to the ultimate possession of the country, be- 
cause they were not settlers but ministers of the 
Gospel, continued as follows: "They (Blanchet 
and Demers) were, however, subjects of Great 
Britain, and their influence and teaching among 
the people was naturally in favor of the author- 
ity and interest of the Hudson's Bay Company. 
They discouraged the early attempts at the for- 
mation of a settlers' government in the coun- 
try." Archbishop Blanchet, in his ''Historical 
Sketches" (1878), characterizes this statement 
as '*a great mistake, " and adds (page 151), ''All 
this is entirel}^ inaccurate ; their being British 
subjects had nothing to do with their teaching, 
nor would it naturally lead them 'to teach 
their people in favor of the authority and inter- 
est of a fur-company.' A higher sense of feel- 
ing than thfs was their rule ; they had a con- 
science and a faith. Nor did they ever dis- 
courage the early attempts of a settlers' govern- 
ment, either Avithin or without their churches. 



DEVELOPMENTS ECCLESIASTICAL, POLITICAL 97 

When, during the meeting in June, 1841, Vicar 
General Blanchet gave his opinion that it was 
too soon (and), that as Commodore Wilkes was 
expected here, the committee should wait for 
his opinion — that step was by no means an act 
of opposition, but on the contrary an act of 
prudence which the Commodore approved of at 
St. Paul on June 7th, on the ground that the 
country was too young. And also on a later 
occasion when he begged that his name be 
erased from those of the committee, that was 
done in no sense out of opposition but for want 
of time. In a word, let all comprehend that the 
two Catholic missionaries understood too well 
the delicacy of their position in this new and 
unsettled country to commit such imprudent 
blunders." This emphatic declaration of the 
attitude of the Catholic missionaries must be 
taken as conclusive in view of the complete ab- 
sence of evidence which would connect them 
with the opposition to the provisional govern- 
ment. 

8. Father Blanchet Consecrated Bishop. 

While these political developments were tak- 
ing place, a change in ecclesiastical administra- 
tion was likewise being effected. The bishops 
of Quebec and Baltimore, acting in concert (it 
will be recalled that the Oregon country was in 



98 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

a state of joint occupancy, and ecclesiastical as 
well as civil limits were ill-defined), recom- 
mended to the Holy See to erect their joint mis- 
sion into a Vicariate Apostolic. The sugges- 
tion was accepted, and by a brief of December 
1, 1843, the new Vicariate was created with 
Father Blanchet as its Vicar Apostolic with the 
title of Philadelphia in partibus (subsequently 
changed to that of Drasa to avoid confusion). 
The news of this action did not reach Oregon 
until November 4 of the following year. The 
Bishop-elect decided to go to Canada for the 
purpose of receiving episcopal consecration. 
Appointing Father Demers administrator. 
Father Blanchet crossed the Columbia bar De- 
cember 5, 1844, on a ship bearing the name of 
the river. The voyage to Montreal was by a 
circuitous route. The ship visited Honolulu, 
doubled Cape Horn and arrived at Deal, Eng- 
land. Father Blanchet then went to Liverpool, 
where he embarked for Boston. He reached 
Montreal towards the end of June, after a te- 
dious journey of more than six months. Here 
on the 25th of July, 1845, he received his con- 
secration at the hands of the Right Rev. Igna- 
tius Bourget, Bishop of Montreal. 

9. Summary of Six Years' Apostolic Work. 

A little more than six years had elapsed since 
Father Blanchet had established the Oregon 



DEVELOPMENTS ECCLESIASTICAL, POLITICAL 99 

Mission. Casting a retrospective glance over 
those years of missionary activity, he writes in 
his Historical Sketches: ''At the end of 1844, 
after six years of efforts disproportioned to the 
needs of the country, the vast mission of Ore- 
gon, on the eve of its being erected into a 
vicariate apostolic, had gained nearly all of the 
Indian tribes of the (Puget) Sound, Caledonia 
(British Columbia) and several tribes of the 
Rocky Mountains and of Lower Oregon. It had 
brought six thousand pagans to the faith. Nine 
missions had been founded; five in lower Ore- 
gon and four at the Rocky Mountains. Eleven 
churches and chapels had been erected, five in 
lower Oregon, two in Caledonia, and four at 
the Rocky Mountains. One thousand Cana- 
dians, women and children, had been saved from 
the imminent perils of losing their faith. . . 
The Catholic Mission possessed two educational 
establishments, one for boys and the other for 
girls; the number of its missionaries had been 
raised to fifteen, without speaking of the treas- 
ure the mission had in the persons of the good 
Religieuses of Notre Dame de Namur," (page 
153). We have in this brief record of the labors 
of our missionary priest an earnest of the apos- 
tolic work that was yet to be wrought by his 
consecrated hands. 



100 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

NOTE. — Snowden tells the following interesting story: 
"Early in November Father Blanchet received notice 
that Oregon had been made a vicariate apostolic, of 
which he was to be the eccelsiastical head, with the title 
of bishop of Philadelphia. . . . Upon reflection, and con- 
sideration of the difficulties of the journey, and the time 
he would need to be absent, he concluded to go to Mex- 
ico [to be consecrated]. But on arriving there, he 
found that while the notice of his appointment was reg- 
ular, and its genuineness undoubted, the canonical law 
required his own identification as the person for whom 
the appointment had been made. As identification was 
impossible where nobody could be found who had ever 
seen him before, he went to France but found the same 
difficulty there. He accordingly crossed the Atlantic 
again to Canada, where, at Montreal, the city from which 
he had been sent out to the West seven years earlier as 
a missionary priest, the pioneer head of the Catholic 
Church in Oregon was duly consecrated." (History of 
Washington, vol. II, p. 166.) 



CHAPTER XL 

CLOSE OF DESMET's OREGON MISSION. 

1. Prosperity of Flathead Mission. 

In June, 1846, DeSmet was back again at 
Fort Colvile, and was there joined by Father 
Nobili, who had just returned from a missionary 
journey to Fort St. James, the capital of New 
Caledonia, situated on Stuart Lake. The end 
of June saw him* at St. Francis Xavier mission 
on the Willamette. A few weeks later he was 
making his way up the Columbia in an Indian 
canoe with two blankets unfurled by way of 
sails. At Walla Walla he experienced the hos- 
pitality of Mr. McBean, the superintendent of 
the Fort. Taking farcAvell of Mr. McBean, 
Father DeSmet visited the Nez Perces, Kalis- 
pels and Coeur d'Alenes, among whom were 
stationed Fathers Hoeken, Joset and Point. On 
the Feast of the Assumption, he was again 
among the Flatheads in the Bitter Root Valley. 
St. Mary's mission had prospered, both ma- 
terially and spiritually. He found the little 
log church, which had been erected five years 
before, about to be replaced by a large and 
handsome structure. Another agreeable sur- 
prise awaited him. The mechanical skill of 
Father Ravalli had erected a flour mill and a 
saw mill. ''The flour mill," writes Father De- 



102 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

Smet, ''grinds ten or twelve bushels a day, 
and the saw mill furnished an abundant sup- 
ply of planks, posts, etc., for the public and 
private building of the nation settled here." 

2. DeSmet's Influence Among the Indians. 

On August 16, 1846, Father DeSmet left St. 
Mary's mission in the Bitter Root and reached 
the University of St. Louis December 10th. 
His missionary Avork in Oregon was at an end. 
His biographers, summing up this period of his 
career, write as follows: ''The results of his 
labors from a missionary point of view, were 
highly successful. The whole Columbia Val- 
ley had been dotted with infant establishments, 
some of which had taken on the promise of per- 
manent growth. He had, indeed, laid the foun- 
dation well for a spiritual empire throughout 
that region, and but for the approach of emi- 
gration, his plans would have brought forth the 
full fruition that he expected. But most im- 
portant of all, from a public point of view, 
was the fact that he had become a great power 
among the Indian tribes. All now knew him, 
many personally, the rest by reputation. He 
was the one Avhite man in whom they had im- 
plicit faith. The government was beginning to 
look to him for assistance. The Mormon, the 
forty-niner, the Oregon emigrant, came to him 



CLOSE OF DESMET's OREGON MISSION 103 

for information and advice. His writings were 
already known on two continents and his name 
was a familiar one, at least in the religious 
world.'* 

3. The Yakima Outbreak. 

Father DeSmet paid two subsequent visits 
to the scenes of his missionarj^ labors in Ore- 
gon. The first of these visits was occasioned 
by the Indian outbreak in 1855, known as the 
Yakima war. The savages, viewing with alarm 
the encroachments of the whites upon their 
lands, formed a league to repel the invaders. 
Even the peaceful Flatheads and Coeur 
d'Alenes joined the coalition. The United 
States government sent General Harney, who 
had won distinction in several Indian wars, 
to take charge of the situation. At the per- 
sonal request of General Harney, Father De- 
Smet was selected to accompany the expedition 
in the capacity of chaplain. Their party 
reached Vancouver late in October, 1858. The 
news of the cessation of hostilities and the 
submission of the Indians had already reached 
the fort. But the Indians, though subdued, 
were still unfriendly, and there was constant 
danger of a fresh outbreak. The work of 
pacification was still to be effected. Upon this 



104 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

mission DeSmet left Vancouver, under orders 
of the commanding general, to visit the moun- 
tain tribes some 800 miles distant. 

4. DeSmet as a Peace Maker. 

He visited the Catholic soldiers at Fort Walla 
Walla, and there met Father Congiato, superior 
of the mission, from whom he received favor- 
able information concerning the dispositions of 
the tribes in the mountains. By the middle of 
April, 1859, Father DeSmet had revisited prac- 
tically all the tribes among Avhom he had la- 
bored as a missionary. On April 16, he left 
the mission of St. Ignatius, among the Pend 
d'Oreilles, to return to Fort Vancouver. He 
was accompanied, at his own request, b}^ the 
chiefs of the different mountain tribes, with 
the view of renewing the treaty of peace with 
the General and with the Superintendent of 
Indian affairs. The successful issue of Father 
DeSmet 's mission is seen from a letter of Gen- 
eral Harney, dated Fort Vancouver, June 1, 
1859. He writes: ''I have the honor to re- 
port, for the information of the General-in- 
Chief, the arrival at this place of a deputation 
of Indian chiefs, on a visit suggested by my- 
self through the kind offices of the Eeverend 
Father DeSmet, who has been with these tribes 
the past winter. These chiefs have all declared 



CLOSE OF DESMEt's OREGON MISSION 105 

to me the friendly desires which now animate 
them towards our people. Tw^o of these chiefs 
— one of the npper Pend d'Oreilles, and the 
other of the Flatheads — report that the proud- 
est boast of their respective tribes is the fact 
that no white man's blood has ever been shed 
by any one of either nation. This statement 
is substantiated by Father DeSmet. It gives 
me pleasure to commend to the General-in- 
Chief the able and efficient services the Rev- 
erend Father DeSmet has rendered." Having 
fulfilled his mission, DeSmet secured his re- 
lease from the post of chaplain and returned 
to St. Louis, visiting a score of Indian tribes 
on the way. It is typical of him that he should 
have planned, despite his three score years, 
to cover the entire distance from Vancouver to 
St. Louis on horseback, a project wdiich he w^as 
regretfully compelled to abandon because of 
the unfitness of his horses for so long a journey. 

5. Bids Farewell to Oregon Country. 

Once more, in 1868, DeSmet traversed the 
Oregon Country, renewing his acquaintances 
with the various missions and enjoying the hos- 
pitality of the three pioneer l)ishops of the 
province, at Portland, Vancouver and Victoria. 
DeSmet 's missionary labors in Oregon had 
come to a close before the arrival of Bishop 



106 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

A. M. A. Blanchet in the Pacific Northwest. 
But Archbishop Blanchet and Bishop Demers 
were co-apostles with him in this new corner 
of the Lord's vineyard, and with him had borne 
the burden of the pioneer work. Now, how- 
ever, the pioneer days were over, and DeSmet, 
as he set sail from Portland on the 13th day of 
October, 1863, could bear witness to the al- 
tered aspect of the country. But with all the 
signs of progress about him, there was one 
undeniable feature of the situation which 
brought sadness to his heart. The Indian 
tribes for whom he had labored with such apos- 
tolic zeal, the children of the forest, whose 
wonderful dispositions for Christian faith and 
Christian virtue had been his consolation and 
his glory, were doomed. The seed of the 
Gospel, which he had sown, had taken root 
and sprung up and was blossoming forth with 
the promise of an abundant harvest when the 
blight came. The white man was in the land. 
The Indian envied his strength and imitated 
his vices and fell before both. ''May heaven 
preserve them from the dangerous contact of 
the whites!" was DeSmet 's last prayer for his 
neophytes as he bade farewell to the Oregon 
Country. 



CLOSE OF DESMET's OREGON MISSION 107 
6. ♦ DeSmet's Views on the Oregon Question. 

An interesting incident early in August, 
1845, brings Father DeSmet's views of public 
affairs to our attention. The ''Oregon Ques- 
tion" was then the all-absorbing theme. While 
DeSmet was ascending the Clark Kiver, he 
had an unexpected interview on this subject. 
As he was approaching the forest on the shore 
of Lake Pend d 'Oreille, several horsemen issued 
from its depths, and the foremost among them 
saluted him by name. On nearer approach, 
Father DeSmet recognized Peter Skeen Ogden, 
one of the leading representatives of the Hud- 
son's Bay Companj^ Ogden was accompanied 
by two English officers, Warre and Vavasour. 
DeSmet was alarmed by the information he ob- 
tained from the travelers regarding the Ore- 
gon question. He writes: ''They were in- 
vested with orders from their government to 
take possession of Cape Disappointment, to 
hoist the English standard, and to erect a 
fortress for the purpose of securing the en- 
trance of the river in case of war. In the 
' ' Oregon Question, " " John Bull, ' ' without much 
talk attains his end and secures the most im- 
portant part of the country; whereas "Uncle 
Sam" loses himself in words, enveighs and 
storms ! Many years have passed in debates 
and useless contention without one single prac- 



108 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

tical effort to secure his real or preteiKjed 
rights." 

Some writers have gathered from those ex- 
pressions that Father DeSmet was hostile to 
the claims of oiir country, and would have pre- 
ferred to see the Oregon Country fall under 
British sovereignty. This view was given 
wide circulation by the Protestant missionar- 
ies. For example. Dr. Whitman writes from 
Wailatpu, under date of November 5, 1846: 
''The Jesuit Papists would have been in quiet 
possession of this, the only spot in the western 
horizon of America, not before their own. It 
would have been but a small work for them 
and the friends of the English interests, which 
they had also fully avowed, to have routed 
us, and then the country might have slept in 
their hands forever." The truth is, of course, 
quite the contrary to these representations. 
What Father DeSmet feared was that Ore- 
gon might be lost to the United States, at 
least temporarily, by indecision on the part of 
our government. 

In a letter to Senator Benton, written in 
1849, DeSmet recounts a conversation which 
he had with several British officers on the brig, 
Modeste, before Port Vancouver, in 1846, in 
which his attitude towards the Oregon ques- 
tion is made clear. The party was discussing 



CLOSE OF DESMET's OREGON MISSION 109 

the possibility of the English taking posses- 
sion, not merely of Oregon, but of California 
as well. Father DeSmet ventured the opinion 
that such a conquest was a dream not easily 
realized, and went on to remark that should 
the English take possession of Oregon for the 
moment, it would be an easy matter for the 
Americans to cross the mountains and wrest the 
entire country from them almost without a 
blow. On hearing these sentiments, the cap- 
tain asked DeSmet somewhat Avarmly: ''Are 
you a Yankee?" "Not a born one, Captain," 
was my reply, ''but I have the good luck of 
being a naturalized American for these many 
years past; and in these matters all my good 
wishes are for the side of my adopted coun- 
try." 






REV. P. J. DeSMET. S. J. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE ORIGINAL OREGON LAND FRAUD. 
1. McLoughlin's Land Claim Disputed. 

Before McLoiighlin retired to Oregon City in 
1846, his land claim had been disputed by mem- 
bers of the Methodist Mission. Late years 
have brought into prominence the Oregon land 
frauds. The events which we shall now nar- 
rate may well be called the ''original Oregon 
land fraud.'' 

In 1829, several years before the arrival of 
any of the mission party, McLoughlin had taken 
possession for himself as a personal claim, of 
the present site of Oregon City with the water 
power at the falls of the Willamette River and 
also of an island situated near the crest of the 
falls, later known as Governor's Island, but 
now called Abernethy Island. The position of 
the island made it extremely valuable for the 
use of water power. It is now the site of a 
station of the Portland General Electric Com- 
pany. In 1829, Dr. McLoughlin began the 
erection of a saw mill at the falls. Three years 
later he had a mill race blasted out of the rocks 
at the head of the island. In 1840 Rev. Jason 
Lee (see page 6), superintendent of the Metho- 
dist Mission, applied to him for the loan of some 
timbers with which to erect the mission build- 



112 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

ing. McLoug'hlin gave him the timbers and a 
piece of land on which to ])nihl. Within a short 
time after the arrival of the ship, Lausanne, in 
1840, with the ''great reinforcement" for the 
Methodist Mission, there appeared a disposition 
on the part of Rev. Alvin Waller, who Avas 
given charge of the local mission near Oregon 
City, to defraud McLonghlin of his land claim. 
The following year another representative of 
the mission, named Hathaway, began to build 
on the island. IMcLoughlin protested and 
Hathaway ceased building. In 1842 McLough- 
lin became a Catholic. He spent the month of 
December of that j^ear on his claim laying it 
out into blocks and lots and gave it the name, 
"Oregon City." Five days after McLougldin's 
conversion, Hathawaj^ deeded the island to the 
Oregon Milling Company, most of the memliers 
of which belonged to the Methodist Mission. 
By this deed Hathaway conveyed to that com- 
pany all his ''rights" (sic) to the island, and 
further undertook to defend the title against 
all persons (the Lord excepted)." Of course, 
Hathaway had absolutely no "right" to the 
island. He had "jumped" jMcLoughlin's claim. 
The island was subsequently "conveyed" to 
Governor Abernethy ; whence the name Aber- 
nethy Island. In 1849 Abernethy in turn con- 
veyed his title to the island to W. V. Bryant, 



THE ORIGINAL OREGON LAND FRAUD 113 

the first territorial Chief Justice of Oregon. 
Judge Bryant's district included Oregon City. 
One can readily see what chance of legal re- 
dress now remained. While Hathaway was re- 
ligiously conveying rights and titles to an 
island he never owned, the Rev. Alvin Waller 
retained legal counsel and laid claim to all of 
the rest of McLoughlin's land. In order to 
avoid trouble McLoughlin bought up Waller's 
ridiculous pretensions. For the consideration 
of five hundred dollars Waller surrendered to 
IMcLoughlin ''all claims, rights and pretensions 
whatsoever" to the tract of land in dispute. 
This was in 1844. Apparentl}^ the trouble was 
definitely settled ; in reality it had just begun. 

2. The Oregon Donation Land Act. 

The conspiracy against ]McLouglilin assumed 
definite form in 1849, when Samuel Thurston 
was elected Territorial Delegate to Congress 
from Oregon through the efforts of the Mission 
Party. The legislation in which Oregon was 
chiefly interested at that time was the passage 
of a land bill by w4iich settlers could obtain a 
legal title to their land. With Thurston 
manipulating this piece of legislation, we come 
to the event we have called the original Oregon 
land fraud. The Oregon Donation Land Bill, 
the passage of which was urged by Thurston, 



114 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

was so framed as to secure to the early set- 
tlers a title to their lands, with one specific 
exception. By the terms of section 11 of the 
bill, the Oregon City Claim (i. e., Dr. McLough- 
lin's land) was to be put at the disposal of the 
Legislative Assembly for the establishment 
of a University. It was further provided 
that Abernethy Island and such lots in Oregon 
City as were held by any one except Dr. John 
McLoughlin should be secured to the respective 
holders. The effect of this section of the bill 
was simply to confiscate by act of Congress all 
of McLoughlin 's claim, amounting to nearly six 
hundred and forty acres, including the site of 
Oregon City. All persons who had secured 
pieces of land from McLoughlin, previous to 
March 4, 1849, whether fraudulently, e. g., the 
Abernethy Island, or by purchase, were to be 
confirmed in their title. To secure the passage 
of a bill containing such an iniquitous pro- 
vision required more than ordinary duplicity. 
Thurston came to the task fully prepared to 
carry out the behests of those to whom he must 
look for re-election. To compass his ends he 
issued a letter to the members of the House of 
Representatives concerning the proposed bill, 
and in particular, concerning section 11. The 
part of the letter devoted to the discussion of 
McLoughlin 's claim is a tissue of deliberate 



THE ORIGINAL OREGON LAND FRAUD 115 

falsehoods. Among other mis-statements, Thurs- 
ton declared: ''This claim has been wrong- 
fully wrested by Dr. McLoughlin from Amer- 
ican citizens. The Methodist Mission first took 
the claim, with the view of establishing here 
their mills and missions. They were forced to 
leave it under the fear of having the savages of 
Oregon let loose upon them; and, successively, 
a number of citizens of our country have been 
driven from it while Dr. McLoughlin was yet 
at the head of the Hudson's Bay Company, west 
of the Rocky Mountains. Having at his com- 
mand the Indians of the country, he has held it 
by violence and dint of threats up to this time." 
Again: 'He (McLoughlin) is still an English- 
man, still connected in interests with the Hud- 
son's Bay Company, and still refuses to file 
his intention to become an American citizen." 

3. Thurston's Calumnies. 

McLoughlin had declared his intention of 
becoming an American citizen on May 30th of 
the previous year and had voted at the gen- 
eral election in June against Thurston, as 
Thurston was well aware. The calumny that 
McLoughlin had wrongfully wrested the claim 
from American citizens was so outrageous that 
Thurston thought it best to keep his letter to 
the Representatives from becoming known in 



116 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

Oregon until after the passage of the bill. The 
only copy of the letter that reached Oregon 
before that date bore on the reverse side in 
Thurston's handwriting the following note: 

''Keep this still till next mail, when I shall 
send them generall5^ The debate on the Cal- 
ifornia bill closes next Tuesday, when I hope 
to get it passed — my land bill ; keep dark till 
next mail. THURSTON. 

''June 9, 1850." 

No wonder he wished the proceedings to be 
kept in the dark. They would not bear the 
light. 

In the debate on the bill, Thurston declared 
that the Hudson's Bay Company had been wag- 
ing war on our country for forty years. He 
continued: "Dr. McLoughlin has been their 
chief fugleman, first to cheat our government 
out of the w^hole country, and next to prevent 
its settlement. In 1845 he sent an express to 
Fort Hall, 800 miles, to warn American emi- 
grants that if they attempted to come to Wil- 
lamette they would all be cut off; they went 
and none were cut off. How, sir, would you 
reward Benedict Arnold, were he living? He 
fought the battle of the country, yet by one act 
of treason forfeited the respect of that coun- 
tr3^ A bill for his relief would fail, I am 
sure ; yet this bill proposes to reward those 



THE ORIGINAL OREGON LAND FRAUD 117 

who are now, have been, and ever w^ill be more 
hostile to our country — more dangerous because 
more hidden, more Jesuitical." 

4. Friends and Enemies Pass Resolutions. 

As soon as it became generally known that 
Thurston was resorting to falsehood and cal- 
umny to deprive Dr. McLoughlin of his land a 
public mass meeting of protest was held in 
Oregon City. A resolution was drafted repudi- 
ating the selection of McLoughlin 's property 
for a university reservation, declaring that ]\Ic- 
Loughlin "merits the gratitude of multitudes 
of persons in Oregon for the timely and long 
continued assistance rendered by him in the 
settlement of the territory." A memorial was 
sent to Congress setting forth that McLoughlin 
was justly entitled to his land claim. But the 
bill had become a law before the memorial 
reached Washington and the attention of Con- 
gress was being devoted to more important 
concerns than the property rights of an old 
man in the wilds of Oregon. Shortly after the 
passage of the bill a mass meeting was held at 
Salem, the stronghold of the Mission Party. 
Resolutions were drawn up strongly upholding 
the action of Thurston; declaring that 'Hhe 
Hudson's Bay Company, with Dr. McLoughlin 
as their chief fugleman, have used every means 

9 



118 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

that could be invented by avarice, duplicity, 
cunning and deception to retard American set- 
tlement, and cripple the growth of American 
interests in Oregon." And the framers of this 
resolution were the men whom Dr. ^IcLouglin 
had fed and clothed and housed. He had cared 
for their families and nursed their sick. He 
had loaned them thousands of dollars which 
they had never returned. He had saved them 
from the cruelty of the Indians. And this was 
their expression of gratitude ! 

5. Last Years of McLoughlin. 

In 1845 the lower house of the Oregon Legis- 
lature refused to memorialize Congress in favor 
of the restitution of INIcLoughlin's claim to its 
rightful owner, and even a resolution express- 
ing the gratitude of Oregon for ]\IcLoughlin's 
work was indefinitely postponed. And so the 
father and benefactor of Oregon became im- 
poverished ; his lands confiscated, his extensive 
improvements rendered useless and unsalable, 
his very home taken from him by the iniquitous 
conspiracy. He was indeed suffered to occupy 
the house simply because no one had any inter- 
est in evicting him. It was no longer his. In 
a document already referred to. Dr. ]\IcLough- 
lin thus sums up the results of his labors in the 
Oregon country: "I founded this settlement 



THE ORIGINAL OREGON LAND FRAUD 119 

and prevented a war between the United States 
and Great Britain, and for doing this peaceably 
and quietly, I was treated by the British in such 
a manner that from self-respect I resigned my 
situation in the Hudson's Bay Compan^^'s ser- 
vice, by which I sacrificed $12,000 per annum, 
and the 'Oregon Land Bill' shows the treatment 
I received from the Americans." Fortified by 
the last rites of the Church, Dr. McLoughlin 
died in Oregon City, September 3, 1857, a 
broken-hearted man. His body lies in the 
church-yard. The place is marked by a simple 
stone. 

6. Tribute to the Memory of McLoughlin. 

In October, 1862, three years after Oregon 
had become a State, the Legislative Assembly 
did tardy justice to the memory of McLoughlin 
by returning to his heirs the confiscated land 
claim. Twelve years had elapsed since the pas- 
sage of the Oregon Donation Land Act reduced 
him to destitution, and five years had flown 
since his body had been laid in the church- 
yard. Dr. John INIcLoughlin was beyond power 
of legislative enactments, but the State of Ore- 
gon did credit to itself b.y this official condem- 
nation of the conspiracy against its greatest 
benefactor. Still no appropriate recognition 
of McLoughlin has yet been shown by the Ore- 



120 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

gon country. In 1887 the people of Portland 
had a life-sized portrait of McLoughlin painted 
for the Oregon Pioneer Association. The por- 
trait now hangs in the place of honor in the 
Senate chamber of State Capitol at Salem. 
In St. John's Catholic Church, at Oregon City, 
is to be seen a memorial window representing 
McLoughlin as a knight of St. Gregory. The 
most fitting monument yet erected to his mem- 
ory is the parish school, at Oregon City, named 
in his honor the ''McLoughlin Institute," which 
was dedicated with fitting ceremonies and ad- 
dresses on Sunday, October 6, 1907. 

The Catholics of the Pacific Northwest may 
claim as their own the ''Father of Oregon," 
they have a hero that is found without blem- 
ish. "Of all the men," says ^Ir. Holman, in 
the concluding paragraph of his "Life of Mc- 
Loughlin," "whose lives and deeds are essen- 
tial parts of the history of the Oregon country. 
Dr. John McLoughlin stands supremely first — 
there is no second. In contemplating him all 
others sink into comparative insignificance. 
You may search the world over, and all its his- 
tories from the beginning of civilization to to- 
day, and you will find no nobler, no grander 
man than Dr. John McLoughlin. His life and 
character illustrate the kinship of man to God. 



THE ORIGINAL OREGON LAND FRAUD 121 

He was God-like in his great fatherhood, in his 
great strength, in his great power, and in the 
exercise of his strength and of his power; he 
was Christ-like in his gentl-eness, in his tender- 
ness, in his loving-kindness, and in his hu- 
manity." 




MOST REV. F. N. BLANCHET 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE FIRST CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN OREGON. 

1. St. Joseph's College Founded. 

One of the earliest cares of Father Blanchet 
was the establishment of schools for the chil- 
dren committed to his pastoral solicitude. A 
wealthy French gentleman, Joseph Larocque, 
made it possible to open a college for boys at 
St. Paul. Larocque, whose home was in Paris, 
had at an early date been heavily interested 
in the Northwest Company, and after the 
amalgamation of that Company with the Hud- 
son's Bay Company in 1821, became chief trader 
in the latter company. He donated 4,800 francs 
to Father Blanchet for the erection of a school. 
Work was begun in 1842 and the school opened 
in the fall of 1843 under the name of "St. Jo- 
seph's College," in honor of its generous foun- 
der. On the 17th of October the college was 
blessed with solemn ceremony in the presence 
of a large concourse of people. Father Lang- 
lois was placed in charge. On the first day 
thirty boys entered as boarders, chiefly metis, 
sons of farmers except one Indian bo}^ who was 
the son of a chief. Some distance from the col- 
lege there was in process of erection a convent 
for Sisters. In October of the same year Father 
Blanchet accompanied Dr. McLoughlin to Ore- 



124 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

gon City and selected a block for a Catholic 
church — the site of the present St. John's 
Church and McLoughlin Institute, Oregon City. 
Early in 1844 the first pastor of Oregon City 
was appointed in the person of Father Demers, 
who celebrated Mass there for the first time on 
Sunday, March 3, of that year. 

2. Sisters of Notre Dame Arrive. 

A second reinforcement for the Catholic mis- 
sions came early in August when Father De- 
Smet returned from Europe accompanied by 
four priests of the Society and by six Sisters 
of Notre Dame de Namur. These were Sisters 
Ignatius of Loyola, Cornelia, Aloysia, Albine, 
Norbertine and Catherine. 

Father DeSmet at once established the Jesuit 
mission of St. Francis Xavier on a site donated 
for that purpose by the Vicar General. The 
Sisters of Notre Dame also took possession of 
the convent which was under construction in 
preparation for their arrival, but which, unfor- 
tunately, owing to the scarcity of mechanics, 
was still wanting in doors and sashes. The Sis- 
ters were soon initiated into the requirements 
of pioneer life. One might be seen handling 
the plane, another glazing, and still others 
painting the Avindows and doors. More than 
thirty children of the Canadian farmers were 



THE FIRST CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN OREGON 125 

quickly enrolled in the new Academy. The 
Sisters entered their new convent early in the 
month of October and a few days later their 
humble chapel was solemnly consecrated by 
Father Blanchet. So immediate was the suc- 
cess of the Sisters that Father DeSmet, writing 
under date of October 9, 1844, says that another 
foundation was projected at ''Cuhute" (Ore- 
gon City), where the Sisters opened their sec- 
ond school in Oregon in the fall of 1848. 

In a postscript to the letter above mentioned. 
Father DeSmet writes as follows: ''On the 9th 
of September the good Sisters commenced in- 
structing women and children who Avere pre- 
paring for their first communion. As their 
house was not yet habitable they were obliged 
to give their instructions in the open air. In 
three days' time they had already nineteen 
pupils from sixteen to sixty years of age, all 
of whom came from a distance bringing with 
them provisions for several days and sleeping 
in the woods, exposed to all the inclemencies of 
the weather. It is easy to conceive by this how 
eager these poor people are for instruction." 
Later, Father DeSmet writes that the Sisters are 
anxious for the completion of their new home 
as they have promised thirty Canadian pupils 
whose tuition would enable the Sisters to give 
gratuitous support and protection to the hapless 



126 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

orphans of the forest. He gives what he terms 
*'the brilliant prospectus of the Academy, in 
which he sets forth the quarterly tuition 
charges in terms of flour, meat, potatoes, eggs, 
salt, candles, tea and rice." Notwithstanding 
this crude and primitive method of collecting 
tuition Father DeSmet was impressed with the 
bright prospects for the future. 

3. Captain Bailey Visits St. Paul. 

We learn something of the internal affairs of 
the boys' school from letters of the Sisters. In 
July, 1844, Captain Bailey of the British frigate 
JModeste, accompanied by two officers, came to 
St. Paul and assisted at services on Sunday in 
the chapel. The children from the college and 
from the parish were arranged in two rows in 
the sanctuary. The British captain was much 
impressed by the excellent discipline which the 
pupils manifested. A public examination at 
which he assisted was held at the college in 
French and English, writing and arithmetic. 
The following summer we read that Vicar Gen- 
eral Demers came to examine the pupils of the 
Academy before the distribution of prizes, and 
gave a talk to the parents on their duties. 



THE FIRST CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN OREGON 127 
4. Spiritual Exercises at the Academy. 

The spiritual exercises of the Sisters possess 
an interest of their own. On November 7th, 
1844, they entered on an eight-day retreat with 
Father DeVos as Director. This was the first 
religous retreat in the Oregon country. The 
Forty Hours devotion was held for the first time 
at the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6, 1845, 
just six years after the blessing of the Church. 
On October 2, 1845, the children were enrolled 
in the scapular and two of them consecrated to 
St. Agnes, marking the beginning of a Sodality. 
Not to be omitted is a reference to a miraculous 
statue of our Lady of Seven Dolors, a gift of 
the ^^Orphelines" of Lima, Peru. Its shrine 
stood in a secluded corner of the grounds. A 
beginning of domestic science is noted in that 
the children are taught to make their own 
clothing, and some who had attained greater 
proficiency were engaged in embroidering a 
rochet for the Archbishop on his return. 

5. Idyllic Life at St. Paul. 

It was of this period that an old pioneer 
writes as follows concerning the settlement at 
St. Paul: ''There was a time when French 
Prairie was the home spot of the Pacific North- 
west, when the Americans had not yet gone into 



128 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

rendezvous on the Missouri border and had not 
taught their prairie schooners the long way 
across the plains. In those ante-pioneer daj's 
the Canadian French had made their homes on 
the beautiful prairie and in the absence of their 
country-women had espoused the dusky maid- 
ens of the Calapooias, who raised for them 
bright eyed groups of half-breed boys and girls. 
The Catholic Fathers were here to bless the 
union and guide the lives of these youths, and 
the condition of these people was one of peace 
and plenty. The earliest comers among the 
Americans took homes among them and speak 
with pleasant memories of the quiet, peaceful, 
faraway life which the French and half-breed 
population enjoyed. These remember seeing 
the young people assemble on the Sabbath 
where is now the Catholic Church of St. Paul 
and the pictures they draw are charmingly illus- 
trative of the idyllic period that Oregon passed 
through and the quiet pastoral lives these Cana- 
dians lived." 

6. Father Blanchet Acts as Judge. 

Duflot de Mofras, who visited Oregon in 1844 
and spent some days with the Vicar General at 
St. Paul, recounts how Father Blanchet acted 
as judge over his flock: A French Canadian 
was accused of stealing a horse from an Ameri- 



THE FIRST CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN OREGON 129 

can. An exhibition of patriarchal justice was 
given. The fathers of the families of the com- 
munity were assembled. The case was tried, 
and the culprit found guilty. Father Blanchet 
rendered judgment that the thief should restore 
the horse and should remain at the door of the 
church for three months during services. The 
decision, adds Mofras, was accepted without 
question. (Vol. II, page 218.) 

The return of the Archbishop in 1817 brought 
to the Sisters of Notre Dame a reinforcement 
in the persons of Sister Renilda and her com- 
panions, which enabled them in pursuance of 
the plan already mentioned to open a school at 
Oregon City on September 12, 1848. The Arch- 
bishop, too, late in the month of December, 
transferred his residence to Oregon City, the 
official seat of his vast diocese. 

7. Sudden Closing of the Schools. 

The year 1849 was to open a series of mis- 
fortunes for the Church in Oregon. Gold had 
been discovered in California and a large emi- 
gration of families from French Prairie for the 
mines took place in May. As a consequence, 
St. Joseph's College for boys, wdiich had been 
founded in 1844, was closed in June, 1849, and 
never reopened its doors. The consequence of 
the emigration from St. Paul was the subse- 



130 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

quent closing of the Jesuit Mission of St. Fran- 
cis Xavier on the Willamette, and the with- 
drawal of the Fathers of that Society from 
mission work in Oregon. The Sisters of Notre 
Dame were forced by the same circumstances 
to abandon their school at St. Paul in 1852. 
Meanwhile a similar misfortune had overtaken 
Oregon Cit}-. It will be recalled that by the 
terms of the Oregon Donation Land Act of 1849, 
the Oregon City claim was appropriated by the 
state. As a result of this act no land could 
be sold in Oregon City and the town rapidly 
declined. Hence in 1853 the Sisters of Notre 
Dame were led to close their remaining school 
at the Falls of the Willamette, and the Arch- 
diocese was bereft at once of all its religious 
and of its educational institutions. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HIERARCHY. 

1. Establishment of Ecclesiastical Province. 

Immediately after his consecration in Mon- 
treal as Titular Bishop of Drasa, Bishop Blan- 
chet decided to go to Europe before returning 
to his Vicariate. His purpose was to obtain 
from Rome assistant Bishops for the vast terri- 
tory under his jurisdiction, to secure new mis- 
sionaries and more Sisters and to collect funds 
to enable him to build the churches and schools 
which he saw to be necessary in the immediate 
future. This task occupied him from October, 
1845, to October, 1846. He first visited Bel- 
gium in order to secure a reinforcement of the 
Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. It will be 
recalled that six Sisters of this community had 
accompanied Father DeSmet to Oregon in 1844. 
He was successful in getting the promise of 
seven additional Sisters. The Bishop then vis- 
ited the principal cities of Belgium and every- 
where aroused the greatest interest in his mis- 
sion. He next turned his steps toward the 
Eternal City, spending Christmas at Marseilles 
and reaching Rome January 5th, 1846. He ob- 
tained an audience with Pope Gregory XVI and 
was subsequently received several times by his 
Holiness. Acting upon the advice of influential 



132 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

friends in Rome he decided to request of the 
Holy See the establishment of an ecclesiastical 
province with an archbishop and several suf- 
fragans. To this end he presented to the Con- 
gregation of the Propaganda an extended me- 
morial dealing with the history and conditions 
and needs of his vast Vicariate. The result of 
his petition was that by Briefs dated July 24th. 
1846, the Vicariate was erected into an ecclesi- 
astical province with the three Sees of Oregon 
City, Walla Walla and Vancouver Island. Five 
other districts were also named in the Briefs, 
namely: Fort Hall, Fort Colvile, New Cale- 
donia, Nesqually and Princess Charlotte Island, 
])ut these were associated in administration, 
with the three already mentioned. Bishop 
Blanchet was promoted to the position of Arch- 
bishop of Oregon City and Father Demers to 
that of Bishop of Vancouver Island, while a 
brother of the new Archbishop, the Reverend 
A. M. A. Blanchet, Canon of the Montreal 
Cathedral, was selected as Bishop of Walla 
Walla. 

2. Secures Recruits and Aid in Europe. 

Bishop Blanchet remained in Rome four 
months, visiting with all the delight of a pious 
pilgrim the great basilicas and churches of the 
Holy City and the other monuments of Chris- 



ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HIERARCHY 133 

tian antiquity. The catacombs were an object 
of his special devotion, and before leaving 
Rome he obtained relics of Saints Jovian, Sev- 
erin, Flavia and Victoria. On his return to 
Oregon these relics were distributed as special 
gifts to various churches and institutions, 
where they are still preserved. Leaving Rome 
on the 8th of May the Bishop returned to 
France by way of Geneva and Marseilles. He 
visited some days at Avignon and spent a week 
as guest at the Grand Seminary of Lyons. 
Here he addressed the three hundred semina- 
rians and secured three of them for the Oregon 
Mission. These were B. Delorme, afterwards 
Vicar General of Oregon City, and the author 
of an extended heroic poem entitled "L 'Homme 
— Dieu."; J. F. Jayol, and F. Veyret. Bishop 
Blanchet now visited Prussia, Bavaria and 
Austria. Leaving Paris in the middle of 
June he visited Aix-La-Chapelle and Cologne, 
and then ascending the Rhine stopped at Bonn 
and Mayence and other of the Rhine cities, 
finally reaching Munich, where he spent a week 
as a guest of the discalced Fathers of St. Au- 
gustine. Descending the Danube he remained 
for three weeks a guest of the Redemptorist 
Fathers at Vienna. It was not until his return 
to Paris, however, that he learned of the suc- 
cessful termination of his representations in 

10 



134 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

Rome and his promotion to the Metropolitan 
See of Oregon City. 

In his long journey he was everywhere met 
with the warm sympathy of the highest authori- 
ties in Church and State. He was received in 
audience by the King and Queen of Belgium, 
by the King of Bavaria, by the Emperor and 
Empress of Austria, and three times b}' Louis 
Philippe, King of France. The last named 
sovereign secured for him a gift amounting to 
nearly eighteen thousand francs for the Ore- 
gon Mission. He received many other valuable 
gifts, and the railroads of Belgium and France 
gave many favors to his party. 

3. The Archbishop Returns to Oregon. 

It was not until the 22nd of February, 1847, 
that the Archbishop set sail for Oregon from 
Brest with his company in the L'Etoile du 
Matin. He brought with him twenty-one per- 
sons for the Oregon Mission. These were seven 
Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, three Jesuit 
Fathers and three Brothers of the Society, five 
secular priests, namely, Le Bas, IMcCormick, 
Deleveau, Pretot and Veyret, two deacons, B. 
Delorme and J. F. Jaj^ol, and a student, T. 
Mesplie. After a journey of nearly six months 
the L'Etoile du INIatin reached the mouth of 
the Willamette River, and the party disem- 



ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HIERARCHY 135 

barked on the 19tli of August, 1847. On the 
25th of that month the Archbishop reached his 
new Cathedral at Oregon City and celebrated 
Mass there the following day. He proceeded 
thence to his old missionary field at St. Paul 
and robed in the episcopal vestments chanted 
the Te Deum in thanksgiving for his happy re- 
turn and gave benediction of the Blessed Sacra- 
ment to the large concourse of Catholics and 
non-Catholics who gathered to greet him. 

4. Activity of Vicar General Demers. 

During the absence of Archbishop Blanchet 
in 1845-6 the Church in Oregon was adminis- 
tered by Vicar General Demers. Father De 
Vos was stationed at Oregon Cily and was in 
charge of Vancouver, and Father Accolti, S. J., 
Superior of the Jesuit Mission at St. Paul. 
Father Bolduc remained in charge of St. Jo- 
seph's College. Great building activity was 
manifested at St. Paul at this time. St. Jo- 
seph's College was enlarged. A new chapel was 
in course of construction for the Sisters, who 
had more than forty children in their school. 
The corner stone of a new brick church (the 
first brick church in Oregon) was blessed by 
Father Demers on May 26, 1846, and the church 
w^as dedicated on November 1st of the same 
vear. Meanwhile Father Vercruisse had eon- 



136 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

structed a church at St. Louis. The new church 
at Oregon City, which was destined to be the 
Cathedral, had been blessed and opened for 
divine worship on February 8, 1846. Here the 
efforts of Father De Vos met with great suc- 
cess and his zeal was crowned by the reception 
of a number of distinguished converts, among 
whom were Dr. J. E. Long, Secretary of the 
Provisional Government, and Peter H. Burnett, 
Chief Justice of Oregon. (See note at end of 
Chapter.) 

5. First Ordination in Oregon. 

On Sunday, September 12th, the Archbishop 
administered the sacrament of Confirmation at 
St. Paul and on the folloAving Sunday raised 
Mr. Jayol to the Priesthood, this being the first 
ordination in the Oregon Country. The Arch- 
bishop revisited his missions at Fort Vancouver 
and the St. Francis Xavier mission at Cowlitz, 
administering confirmation in each place. On 
the 31st of October he was back at St. Paul and 
ordained the future Vicar General Delorme to 
the priesthood. 

6. Arrival of the Bishop of Walla Walla. 

Right Rev. A. M. Blanchet, who had been con- 
secrated Bishop of Walla Walla in Montreal 
on September 27th, 1846, arrived on September 



ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HIERARCHY 137 

5th at Fort Walla Walla after a long journey 
of five months in wagons across the plains by 
wa3^ of St. Louis. The Bishop of Walla Walla 
was accompanied by four Oblate Fathers of 
Marseilles and Father" Brouillet, as Vicar Gen- 
eral, and also Father Rousseau and William Le- 
cleaire, deacon. The Bishop and his part^^ were 
received very cordially by Mr. McBean, com- 
mandant of the Fort, who with his family were 
Catholics and who figured in the Whitman 
disaster which was then imminent. The Bishop 
of Walla Walla established his mission a short 
distance from the mission of Dr. AVhitman, 
among the Umatilla Indians at Wailatpu. 

7. Consecration of Bishop Demers. 

While the new episcopal See was thus being 
established at Walla Walla, Archbishop Blan- 
chet was preparing to consecrate the Bishop- 
elect of Vancouver Island. To this dignity had 
been called Father Demers, the companion of 
Father Blanchet in the first missionary labors 
in Oregon. The rejoicing with which the Arch- 
bishop's return was greeted culminated in the 
Feast of St. Andrew, November 80th, 1847, in 
the consecration of Bishop-elect Demers, at St. 
Paul, in the presence of numerous clergy and 
a large concourse of the faithful. The out- 
look for the new ecclesiastical province was 



138 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

bright and as the pioneer Bishops looked over 
the field which they had so toilfully entered 
nine j^ears earlier there seemed to be promise 
on every hand of a bountiful harvest to crown 
their labors. 

PETER H. BURNETT. 

8. Early Life of Burnett. 

Among- the most notable of the Oregon pioneers was 
Peter H. Burnett, first Chief Justice of Oregon and 
later first Governor of California. The following account 
of his life is furnished by himself. He was born of 
Baptist parents in 1808. but grew up without belief in 
Christianity. In 1840 he joined the Disciples or Camp- 
hellites. He was one of the prominent leaders of the 
g-reat emigration of 1843 and was afterwards prominently 
identified with the provisional government of Oregon in 
a legal capacity. Of his conversion he writes as follows: 
"While I was temporally located at Fort Vancouver I 
attended High Mass as a mere spectator on Christmas at 
midnight (1843). I had never witnessed anything like 
it before, and the profound solemnity of the services, 
the intense yet calm fervor of the worshippers, the 
great and marked difference between the two forms of 
worship, and the instantaneous reflection that this was 
the church claiming- to be the only true church did make 
the deepest impression on me for the moment. In all 
my religious experience I had never felt an impulse so 
profound, so touching. But as I knew nothing of the 
reasons upon which the Catholic theory assumes to rest, 
I soon thought I saw errors that I could not sanction. 
And then there came a painful revulsion in my feel- 
ings. . . . 

9. Reads the Campbell-Purcell Debate. 

"My knowledge of the Catholic theory was exceedingly 
general and indefinite. I had never read a work in its 
favor, and had never heard but two Catholic sermons 
and they were not on controversial points. In the 
fall of 1844 a Baptist preacher settled in my immediate 



ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HIERARCHY 139 

neighborhood who had the published debate between 
Campbell and Purcell. I borrowed and read the book. 
But while the attentive reading of the debate did not 
convince me of the entire truth of the Catholic theory, 
I was greatly astonished to find that so much could be 
said in its support. On many points and those of great 
importance it was clear to my mind that Mr. Campbell 
had been overthrown. I arose from the reading of that 
discussion still a Protestant. . . . 

"My mind was, therefore, left in a state of restless 
uncertainty; and I determined to examine the question 
between Catholics and Protestants thoroughly. I pro- 
cured all the works on both sides within my reach. The 
investigation occupied all my spare time for about 
eighteen months. I examined carefully, prayerfully and 
earnestly until I was satisfied beyond a doubt that the 
old church was the true and the only true church." 
(The Path which led a Protestant Lawyer to the Catholic 
Church. Preface). 

10. Received in the Church. 

"After an impartial and calm investigation I became 
convinced of the truth of the Catholic theory and went 
to Oregon City in June, 1846, to join the Old Church. 
There I found the heroic and saintly Father DeVos who 
had spent one or more years among the Flathead In- 
dians. He received me into the church." (Recollections 
of an Old Pioneer, page 189.) 

The Conversion of Dr. McLoughlin. 

The current view of McLoughlin's religious opinions has been 
given above on pages 3 and 13. Since those pages have gone to 
press, Rev. A. Hillebrand has submitted considerations which sat- 
isfy the present writer that McLoughlin was reared a Cathol c and 
remained such all his hfe; (a) his parents were both practical 
Catholics and both Hved until he reached early manhood; (b) his 
brothers and sisters were all reared practical Catholics, one sister 
becoming a nun; (c) he conducted a special school for Cath' 1 c 
children at Fort Vancouver; (d) his extreme cordiality to the priests 
shows he was not an apostate. Dr. McLoughhn had been for 
nearly forty years on the frontier, away from the ministrations of 
a priest, when Father Blanchet came on the scene and brought to 
him the sacraments of the Church, which were ever afterwards 
his joy and solace. 




HON. PETER H. BURNETT 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE WHITMAN MASSACRE AND LEGEND. 

1. Whitman Founds Mission Among Cayuse. 

Two days before the consecration of Bishop 
Demers, a catastrophe occurred in Eastern Ore- 
gon which brought the Catholic missions in Ore- 
gon to the brink of ruin. We refer to the sav- 
age massacre of Dr. Whitman and his wife at 
the Wailatpu Mission. A word of explanation 
is necessary to understand the consequences of 
this event. As early as 1836, Dr. Whitman had 
taken up his residence among the Cayuse In- 
dians as representative of the American Board 
Mission. Here he acted as general manager 
of this mission and as medical adviser to 
the savages. For a time his work seemed to 
progress very satisfactorily and the mission 
exerted considerable influence among the In- 
dians. Soon, however, the savages became sus- 
picious of the encroachments of the whites on 
their lands, and their suspicions were further 
aggravated b}' the fatal termination of an epi- 
demic which spread among them, and which 
Dr. Whitman attempted to cure. It was the 
custom among the Indians to kill the medicine 
man who failed to bring relief to the sick. A 
story, too, was spread by a half-breed named 
Joe Lewis, that Dr. Whitman Avas poisoning 



142 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

the Indians to get possession of their lands. 
This, taken in connection with the jealous na- 
ture of the Indians and the aggression of the 
whites, fanned the flame into a fierce blaze of 
indignation against the head of the mission, and 
they resolved upon the death of Dr. Whitman. 
Meanwhile the quarrels of the various members 
of the mission, especially those of Spalding 
and Whitman and Mr. Gray, had brought the 
mission to the very verge of destruction by 
causing the order of the Board in February, 
1842, for the discontinuance of three of its four 
stations and the recalling to the States of Gray 
and Spalding. Whitman's ride was made for 
the purpose of securing, and it did secure, the 
rescission of this destructive order. 

2. The Massacre. 

The decadence of this mission went on very 
rapidly after 1839 till it was destroyed by the 
dreadful massacre of November 29-December 8, 
1847, in which Dr. and ]\Irs. Whitman and 
twelve others were slain, and fifty-three others 
mostly women and children, were taken pris- 
oners. (Marshall, vol. II, page 38.) The follow- 
ing da,y Vicar General Brouillet, ignorant of 
what had occurred, came to the Cayuse camp to 
baptize some sick children. He arrived there 
late in the evening and learned of the atrocious 



WHITMAN MASSACRE AND LEGEND 143 

outrage. The next morning he went to the 
place of the massacre and buried the bodies of 
the dead in the presence of the murderers. 
Leaving the scene of the massacre, he hastened 
away to warn Mr. Spalding, the mission minis- 
ter, of the danger. He was accompanied, much 
against his will, by one of the Cayuse Indians. 
He met the minister three miles from the camp. 
He pleaded with the Indian to spare the life 
of Spalding. The Indian replied that he could 
not take the responsibility of doing so himself, 
but Avould return to camp to consult the others. 
When the Indian had gone. Father Brouillet in- 
formed Spalding of the massacre, and giving 
him his own supply of food, urged him for his 
safety to leave the neighborhood at once. Mr. 
Spalding took to flight, and the Vicar 
General continued his way and had scarcely 
gone a few^ miles until he was overtaken by the 
savages in search of Mr. Spalding. A few days 
later Bishop Blanchet. of Walla Walla, assem- 
bled the Indian chiefs and expressed his con- 
cern at the outrage, and urged them to save the 
widoAvs and orphans. As soon as tidings of 
the massacre reached Fort Vancouver, Chief 
Factor Ogden started without delay to rescue 
the captives. He reached Fort Walla Walla on 
December 19, and assembled all of the Indian 
chiefs on the 23rd, demanding from them all 



144 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

of their prisoners and promising to use his in- 
fluence to prevent war. On December 29, Ogden 
returned to Fort Walla Walla with the pris- 
oners. 

3. Spalding's Ingratitude. 

No sooner had Mr. Spalding reached a place 
of safety, under the protection of ]\lr. Ogden, 
than he began a systematic vilification of 
Bishop Blanchet and Father Bl-ouillet. For- 
getting all sentiments of gratitude, he accused 
the Bishop and his clergy of instigating the 
horrible massacre. So outrageous were these 
accusations that they aroused the deepest and 
intensest prejudice against the Bishop and the 
Catholic Church generally, and the excitement 
became so great that the American volunteers 
in leaving the Willamette Vallej^ in pursuit of 
the Indians said that their first shots would be 
for the Bishop and his priests. For several 
months feeling ran so high that the Catholic 
churches and institutions were in danger of 
being burned down. As a matter of fact the 
leaders of the massacre were members of their 
own mission as is confessed in the following 
letter of Rev. H. H. Spalding to Rev. D. Greene, 
under date of January 24, 1848. (Marshall, 
Vol. II, page 204.) 



WHITMAN MASSACRE AND LEGEND 145 

''Most of these murderers were from the 
camp of Joseph who, you will recollect, was 
one of the first two received into our church 
and who up to this event, has sustained a good 
Christian character." Another offender was 
''Hezekiah the principal Cayuse chief, and one 
often mentioned in my letters as one of our 
most diligent scholars, three W'inters in our 
school at Clear Water and a member of our 
church." 

4. Causes of the Whitman Massacre. 

The particular causes of the Whitman mas- 
sacre have been well stated by Marshall, as 
follows : 

1. The folly of Gray in starting with sev- 
eral Indians to the States in, 1837. The Indians 
were all killed. 

2. The murder of Elijah Hedding, the son 
of a Walla Walla chief, at Sutter's Fort in 
California. 

3. The acts and words of Tom Hill, the 
Delaware or Shoshone Indian who had been 
educated at Dartmouth College, and Avho em- 
bittered the savages against the whites. 

4. The failure of the Indians to get prop- 
erty from the missionaries in payment for the 
use of the land occupied by the mission stations. 

5. Their anger at the constantly increasing 



146 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

throng of wliites going through their coun- 
try to settle in the Willamette Valley. 

6. The belief of the Indians that the mis- 
sionaries were growing rich from the produce 
of their lands. 

7. The belief of the Indians that Whitman 
was poisoning them, confirmed to their igno- 
rant and superstitious minds by the exceed- 
ingly careless way in which strychnine was 
used at the various stations of the IMission. 

8. The deadly epidemic of measles, com- 
plicated with dysentery, which was communi- 
cated to the Indians by the migration of 1847. 

9. The terrible severity of the winter of 
1846-7, which rendered the Indians much more 
susceptible than usual to the ravages of the 
diseases which swept off so large a part of the 
Cayuses and Walla Wallas in the autumn of 
1847. 

10. Whitman's unwisdom in continuing to 
doctor among them as if they were civilized 
people, in spite of numerous threats by Indians 
from as early as 1837 that they would kill him 
if he failed to cure them, and although he knew 
well that from his first arrival in the country, 
he had had among them the reputation of a 
great sorcerer or ''medicine man," and al- 
though he equally well knew that it was a very 
common practice among the Indians to kill 



WHITMAN MASSACRE AND LEGEND 147 

their OAvn medicine men when they failed to 
cure their patients. 

5. Anti-Catholic Prejudice. 

The excitement due to the murder of Dr. 
Whitman and the subsequent Cayuse War had 
subsided and the public mind was restored to 
ciuiet when a new incident arose, in July, 1848, 
which aroused the prejudice against the Catho- 
lics to a higher pitch than before. This was 
the interception at The Dalles by Lieutenant 
Rodgers of ammunition which w^as being taken 
to the Rocky Mountain missions conducted by 
the Jesuit Fathers. Those missions were de- 
pendent largely upon hunting, and each sum- 
mer the Fathers in charge imported a stock of 
powder and balls for the winter's use. Lieu- 
tenant Rodgers reported that these arms and 
ammunition were to be distributed among the 
Indians of the interior for the extermination 
of the Protestants. The state of the popular 
mind may be imagined when such a story 
would receive credence and become the source 
of a general anti-Catholic movement. In De- 
cember, 1848, a petition was introduced into 
the Territorial Legislature for the expulsion of 
the Catholic clergy from Oregon. More sober 
counsel prevailed, however, and the petition 
was lost. Rut the work of the Catholic mis- 



148 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

siouaries in Eastern Oregon Avas frustrated for 
two decades, and even in the Willamette Val- 
ley it was retarded. 

6. The Whitman Myth. 

The influence of the Whitman story was, 
however, not to rest here. Mr. Spalding, in 
order to discredit the work of the Catholic 
missionaries, invented an heroic narrative of 
Whitman's service to Oregon, in which the 
Catholic clergy were held up to public view 
as the enemies of American domination. While 
this narrative belongs chronologically to a 
period of history nearly twenty years subse- 
quent to the Whitman massacre, it will be 
best for us to give an account of the matter in 
this place. 

7. Earliest Version. 

The earliest published version of the Whit- 
man story is the brief and vague one written 
by S. A. Clarke, which appeared in the Sac- 
rameiito Union of November 16, 1864. The 
story is to be found in two very variant forms 
in two letters to the American Board Avritten 
by Rev. George H. Atkinson, November 20, 
1858, and September 7, 1859. These are doubt- 
less the earliest written forms of the legend. 
The most generally accepted version of the 



WHITMAN MASSACRE AND LEGEND 149 

story is that published by Rev. H. H. Spald- 
ing in the Pacific, the California organ 
of the Congregationalists, October 19th and 
November 9th, 1865. The story of how Whit- 
man saved Oregon to the United States, ac- 
cording to the narrative of Spalding and Gray 
is as follows : 

8. The Dinner at Fort Walla Walla. 

''In September, 1842, Dr. Whitman was called 
to visit a patient at Fort Walla AValla. While 
there he took dinner with the traders and 
clerks of the Hudson's Bay Company, who 
were on their way to New Caledonia. While 
they were at dinner, word arrived that an 
emigration from Red River had passed the 
Rocky Mountains and was near Fort Colvile. 
An exclamation of joy burst from the whole 
table, at first unaccountable to Dr. Whitman, 
till a young priest, not thinking there Avas an 
American at the table, sprang to his feet and 
swinging his hands in the air exclaimed, ''Hur- 
rah for Columbia! (Oregon), America is too 
late! We have the countr}^" In an instant. 
Dr. Whitman, as by instinct, saw through the 
whole plan. He immediately arose from the 
table, asked to be excused, sprang upon his 
horse, rode to his mission, and without stop- 
ping to dismount, told his co-workers: "I am 
11 



150 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

going to cross the Rocky Mountains and reach 
Washington this winter and bring an emigra- 
tion over the mountains next spring, or this 
country is lost." 

9. How Oregon was Saved. 

''Leaving his missionary associates, he entered 
upon his famous ride, and reached Washington 
the last of March, 1843. There he sought an 
interview with Secretar}^ Webster, and laid 
before him the great importance of Oregon to 
the United States; but he found Webster on 
the point of trading off Oregon to Great Brit- 
ain for a cod-fishery on the Banks of New- 
foundland. Whitman then had an interview 
with President Tyler, who promised that Ore- 
gon should not be traded off provided Dr. 
Whitman should establish a wagon route 
through the mountains to the Columbia River. 
Whitman thereupon organized a caravan of 
nearly 200 wagons with a great emigration, 
leaving Missouri on the last of April and 
emerging on the plains of the Columbia on the 
4th of September, 1843. Thus was Oregon 
saved to the Union and the nefarious plans 
of the Catholic missionaries frustrated by 
Whitman's heroism." 



WHITMAN MASSACRE AND LEGEND 151 

10. False in Every Important Detail. 

Such is the thrilling story of Whitman's 
services, which was published to the world by 
Spalding for the first time in 1865, seventeen 
years after the death of Marcus Whitman. Of 
this story we have only to remark that it is false 
in every important particular, as the following 
points will indicate : 

1. There was no emigration from the Red 
River reaching Oregon in 1842. 

2. There was no young priest in Eastern 
Oregon in September, 1842. 

3. Whitman's journey was undertaken, 
not to save Oregon, but to save his own mis- 
sion from being closed down by the order 
which had come from the Board in the East; 
and this journey was planned and authorized 
by his associates in missionary work, as is 
shown by the authoritative documents of the 
mission. 

4. The story concerning Webster is too 
puerile to deserve notice. Every administra- 
tion from 1814 down to 1846 had insisted 
on nothing south of forty-nine degrees as ''our 
ultimatum" for the northern boundary of Ore- 
gon. Webster positively declared in January 
and February, 1843, "that he had never made 
nor entertained nor meditated any proposition 
to accept of the Columbia River, or any other 



152 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

line south of the forty-ninth degree, as a ne- 
gotiable boundary line for the United States." 
(Marshall, Vol. II, page 192.) 

5. Whitman had nothing to do with or- 
ganizing the emigration of 1843, but fell in 
with it after it was organized, and accom- 
panied it to Oregon. (See note at end of chap- 
ter.) 

The Whitman story, however, in spite of its 
purely mythical character, found its way into 
encyclopaedias and general histories and chron- 
icles of Oregon, and especially through Bar- 
row's History of Oregon, which was published 
in 1884, the story received universal dissemina- 
tion. 

11. Non-Catholic Historians Demolish Legend. 

The final disposal of the myth must be 
credited to two non-Catholic historians, Prof. 
Edward Gaylord Bourne, of Yale, and Mr. 
W. I. Marshall, of Chicago. The former, 
in his ''Essa,ys in Historical Criticism," has 
dissected the Whitman legend ; the latter, in 
his two volumes on the ''Acquisition of Ore- 
gon, and the Long Suppressed Evidence Con- 
cerning IMarcus Whitman," has finally demol- 
ished the stor}^ and exposed the animus of 
those who built it up. 

"It is evident," says Marshall, ''to any one 
who will study the origin and development 



WHITMAN MASSACRE AND LEGEND 153 

of the Whitman legend that it would never 
have been heard of, had the National Gov- 
ernment paid the thirty or forty thousand dol- 
lars claimed by Spalding and Eells for the 
destruction of the mission, and allowed their 
claims for a mile square of land around each 
mission station. . . . This makes the origin of 
the legend vastly more sordid than I had pre- 
viously supposed. 

''In no diary or letter to Whitman is there 
a single sentence prior to the time when Whit- 
man — after finding the whole country aflame 
on the Oregon question — had reached St. Louis 
on his return to Oregon in May, 1843, which 
expresses the least interest in or concern about 
the political destiny of all, or of any part, of 
the old Oregon Territory." (Vol. II, page 51.) 

NOTES TO CHAPTER XV. 
(By Mr. Clinton A. Snowden.) 

(a) "There is absolutely no evidence that 
Whitman met either President Tyler or Secre- 
tary Webster while in Washington or else- 
where." 

(b) ''The President and his cabinet had re- 
ceived a special report from Commodore Wilkes 
more than eight months before Whitman reach- 
ed Washington, giving vastly more informa- 



154 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

tion in regard to the value of Oregon than 
Whitman possessed." 

(c) "Professor McMaster in his 'History of 
the People of the United States, ' shows that the 
people of the Western States particularh^, were 
fully aware of the value of the Oregon Country, 
and that public meetings had been held in 
various places, and a National Convention had 
been called to meet at Cincinnati to urge Con- 
gress to hasten settlement of the boundary ques- 
tion, before Whitman reached any frontier set- 
tlement on his way east." 



CHAPTER XVI. 

A DECADE OF STRUGGLE (1848-1858). 

1. First Provincial Council is Held. 

Notwithstanding the unfortunate events 
which broke up the Catholic missions among 
the Indians in Eastern Oregon, Archbishop 
Blanchet opened the first Provincial Council of 
Oregon in the archiepiscopal residence at St. 
Paul on February 28, 1848. Indeed the assem- 
bling of the bishops of the province was due to 
the Whitman massacre which caused the clos- 
ing of the mission at Walla Walla and threw 
the Bishop temporarily upon the charity and 
hospitality of the Archbishop. Bishop Demers, 
who had been consecrated on the 30th of the 
preceding November, was still at St. Paul. It 
was an unexpected opportunity for them to 
deliberate on the needs of their various dioceses 
before again separating. The three sessions of 
the council were held with all solemnity. Dis- 
ciplinary regulations were enacted for the 
province and decrees formulated which after- 
wards received the approbation of the Holy 
See. 

2. Bishop Demers Reaches Vancouver Island. 

Immediately after the council had dissolved, 
Bishop Demers set out for Europe by way of 



156 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

Canada to secure co-workers for the diocese of 
Vancouver Island, having at that time not even 
one priest for the vast territory placed under 
his care. It was not until August 20, 1852, that 
he returned to take possession of his See. In 
a letter dated Victoria, October 26, 1852, he 
tells of his journey and the difficulties at- 
tending it. The missionaries whom he had se- 
cured in Europe came by sea in two sailing 
vessels which carried French immigrants to 
California. The Bishop himself came b3^ way 
of Panama to San Francisco, where he found 
that two of his priests had arrived safely, but 
the second vessel with two other priests, a 
phj^sician and two other lay attendants for 
the mission, had not arrived being detained by 
mutiny on board at Rio Janeiro. The bishop 
proceeded to Vancouver Island with his two 
missionaries and found two others there (a 
priest and a sub-deacon) who had preceded him 
by four months. Arrived at his destination 
he was lodged in a little house which had been 
built by the Hudson's Bay Company for the 
use of Father Lamfrit, 0. M. I., who had been 
sent to Victoria early in IMarch, 1849. The 
bishop tells us that on Sunday, September 5th, 
after vespers he took solemn possession of his 
diocese ''plaudente populo cler'oque!" On the 
29th, another ceremonv full of noveltv and in- 



A DECADE OF STRUGGLE (1848-1858) 157 

terest to his people (the savages) took place 
in the blessing of one of the bells which the 
bishop had brought from London. It weighed 
fifty pounds. The following day the bell was 
suspended from a tower formed of the trunks 
of three trees. That evening (September 30th) 
''the Bishop of Vancouver had the consolation 
of ringing the first Angelus that had ever been 
heard in the hills or valleys of Vancouver 
Island. Fourteen years had flown since I rang 
for the first time the Angelus at St. Francis 
Xavier on the Oowlitz." Years of toil and 
self-sacrifice among the Indians and the pio- 
neer whites who formed his flock were again 
opening before the bishop who had already 
borne the heats and burdens of the day as an 
humble missionary in Oregon. In 1858 the 
educational and missionary work of the diocese 
was strengthened by the arrival of the Sisters 
of St. Anne and the Oblate Fathers. 

3. Diocese of Nesqually Created. 

Meanwhile the Bishop of Walla Walla sought 
to return to his mission at Umatilla, having 
remained at Oregon City until after Easter 
Sunday, 1848. When he reached The Dalles 
he was forbidden by the Superintendent of In- 
dian Affairs to go back among the Indians 
owing to the disturbed condition of the rela- 



158 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

tions between the Indians and the whites. The 
bishop established St. Peter's Mission at The 
Dalles where he remained until the end of 
September, 1850. In response to a petition of 
the Provincial Council of 1848, there arrived 
from Rome briefs bearing the date of May 31, 
1850, creating the district of Nesqually into a 
diocese and transferring the Bishop of Walla 
Walla to that See, suppressing the diocese of 
Walla Walla, placing its administration with 
that of the districts of Colvile and Fort Hall 
in the hands of the Archbishop of Oregon Cit.y. 
In consequence of this order Bishop Blanchet, 
now Bishop of Nesqually, quitted The Dalles 
and on October 27, 1850, took up his residence 
at Fort Vancouver.^ The following year Bishop 
Blanchet went to Mexico to collect for the mis- 
sions and churches of his diocese and returned 
with a successful collection of mone}^ sacred 
vessels, pictures and sacerdotal vestments. He 
had previously appealed for assistance to the 
Archbishop of Quebec and we find in the 
pastoral letters of Archbishop Signay a recom- 



'On June 29, 1853. at the recommendation of the First 
Plenary Council of Baltimore (1852) which Archbishop 
Blanchet and the Bishop of Nesqually attended, the 
Columbia River and parallel 46 became the line of di- 
vision between the dioceses of Oregon City and Nesqually 
from the Pacific Ocean to the Rocky Mountains. Fort 
Nesqually was never more than nominally the seat of 
the diocese. The Bishop resided at Fort Vancouver until 
Bishop O'Dea moved to Seattle. Since 1909 the title of 
the diocese has been Seattle. 



A DECADE OF STRUGGLE (1848-1858) 159 

mendation of the work of Bishop Blanchet and 
the appointment of a collection to be taken 
up throughout the diocese for his benefit. An- 
other source of aid to the necessitous diocese 
was the fund supplied by the Society for the 
Propagation of the Faith. 

4. Conditions Serious at Oregon City. 

But hard as were conditions in the diocese 
of Vancouver Island or Nesqually, they did 
not wear the serious aspect that they assumed 
in the archdiocese of Oregon City. The build- 
ing operations at St. Paul and Oregon City, 
which w^e chronicled in an earlier chapter, in- 
volved the archdiocese in very heavy debt. 
Had the community continued to grow normal- 
ly, the required amount of money might pos- 
sibly have been forthcoming, though it must be 
conceded that the new buildings, the church 
at St. Paul and the church and convent at Ore- 
gon City, were projected on a scale scarcely 
warranted by the most hopeful view of the sit- 
uation. But whatever might have been the 
outcome under normal circumstances, the re- 
sult Avas disastrous under the untoward con- 
ditions that arose. The discovery of gold in 
California was followed by an exodus of Cath- 
olic families from French Prairie, greatly 
crippling the resources of the chief parish in 



160 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

the archdiocese. The misfortune which over- 
took Oregon City when McLoughlin's claim 
was unjustly taken from him and appro- 
priated for a universit}' has already been men- 
tioned (Chap. XII). Business was soon at a 
standstill, and after 1850, the population de- 
clined. The new school was deserted (see 
Chap. XIII, par. 7) and the congregation grad- 
ually dwindled away. Another misfortune 
overtook the Archbishop, when in 1849 a ves- 
sel, the Vancouver, carrying the annual 
provision of merchandise for Fort Vancouver, 
was shipwrecked at the mouth of the Colum- 
bia. The entire cargo was lost, including sev- 
eral thousand dollars' worth of effects destined 
for the missions of the archdiocese. 

5. State of the Diocese in 1852. 

An interesting view of the state of the dio- 
cese in 1852 is to be had from the pen of Saint- 
Amant, an envoy of the French Government 
who visited Oregon in that year. Saint-Amant 
spent some days with Archbishop Blanchet at 
Oregon City and reports that ''the archiepis- 
copal palace was worthy of John the Baptist." 
Speaking of conditions at St. Paul he writes: 
''The priest is everything to the families on 
French Prairie — friend, confidant, law-giver, 
counsellor, arbiter, judge. The financial con- 



A DECADE OF STRUGGLE (1848-1858) 161 

dition is very unsatisfactory. The churches 
are mortgaged to heretics and unless the Catho- 
lics make a strenuous effort to save them, they 
will change altars and lose the Real Pres- 
ence"^ (page 179). In the former residence of 
the Archbishop at St. Paul, Saint-Amant was 
astonished to find five hundred volumes con- 
taining the writings of the Fathers of the 
Church (Migne's Patrology, now at the Arch- 
bishop's residence, Portland) in Latin and 
Greek. He observed that these were scarcely 
the equipment to be expected in the home of a 
missionary among the savages. The fact that 
Father Blanchet had carried this extensive and 
precious library of Patristic lore across the 
mountains and plains is an illustration of his 
great love of learning which persisted during 
the most trying years of his missionary life. 

6. Archbishop Tours South America for Aid. 

In order to meet the debts of the archdiocese, 
Archbishop Blanchet decided to tour South 
America for financial assistance. He left Ore- 
gon City in the fall of 1855 with a letter of 
authorization from the Prefect of the Congre- 



ISaint-Amant met McLoughlin at Oregon City. He 
speaks of him in the the following terms: "McLoughlin. 
an old man now, but very straight and of superb bear- 
ing. Napoleon was always his idol. He gives an exam- 
ple of extreme Catholic devotion and receives Communion 
on every occasion." 



162 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

gation of Propaganda. He traversed several 
of the South American States, spending some 
time in Peru and Bolivia. He was especially 
successful in Chili, where he had published in 
1856 in Spanish a pamphlet giving a sketch 
of the ecclesiastical Province of Oregon. 
This sketch gives an account of the his- 
tory of Oregon exploration and missionary ac- 
tivity and contains an appeal of the Archbishop 
for aid in which he presents a vivid picture of 
the multiplying misfortunes which have be- 
fallen the diocese. The Archbishop returned in 
December, 1857, after two years' absence, with 
a collection that enabled him to meet the debts 
of the diocese. 

7. A Discouraging Outlook. 

The financial difficulties of the diocese were 
not the only ones. The schools had all been 
closed ; all the religious, both men and women, 
had left the diocese ; the clergy diminished 
from 19 to 7 ; missions that were once flourish- 
ing were now unattended; work among the 
Indians was paralyzed; bigotry and prejudice 
were spreading apace, and the seat of the dio- 
cese, Oregon City, declining from day to day. 
The state of the diocese in 1855- '56 is summed 
up in the following report : Oregon City, 
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Most Rev. F. N. 



A DECADE OF STRUGGLE (1848-1858) 163 

Blanchet (absent) and Rev. Patrick Mackin ; 
St. Paul, Marion County, Rev. Myles O'Reilly; 
St. Louis, Very Rev. B. Delorme, V. G., and 
Rev. A. Le Bas ; Portland, Rev. Jas. Croke, who 
goes each summer to Southern Oregon, that is, 
Jacksonville, Scottsburg, Winchester, Eugene 
City and other places ; The Dalles, Rev. T. Mes- 
plie. Total number of churches, six; clergy, 
seven. The years of 1855- '56 may be taken as 
the nadir of the Catholic missions in Oregon. 
















OREGON COUNTRY IN PIONEER DAYS 

1792-1846 



^\os 



CHAPTER XVII. 

PORTLAND BECOMES A CATHOLIC CENTER. 

1. Father Croke, First Pastor of Portland. 

With the decline of Oregon City, the town 
of Portland grew rapidly in importance. The 
first movement toward the erection of a Cath- 
olic church in Portland was begun in the fall 
of 1851, when Rev. James Croke was author- 
ized by the Archbishop to solicit funds for that 
purpose. About $600 was secured through sub- 
scriptions of residents of Portland and half a 
block of ground was purchased from Capt. J. 
H. Couch in the vicinity of Fifth and Couch 
Streets. There the building was commenced. 
While the church was being erected the Catho- 
lics of Portland assisted at Mass in a private 
residence until the completion of the little sac- 
risty at the end of the church, where Mass was 
celebrated for the first time at midnight, Christ- 
mas eve, 1851. Two months later the work 
was sufficiently advanced to have the building 
dedicated. Rough benches answered the pur- 
pose of pews and the whole interior of the 
edifice was unfinished when on the 22nd of 
February, 1852, the ceremony of dedication was 
performed by the Archbishop, assisted by Very 
Rev. J. B. Brouillet, Vicar General of Nesqually, 
and the Pastor, Father Croke. The church re- 

12 



166 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

mained on its original site until 1854, when the 
congregation began to realize that the building 
was too far remote from the people. The road 
to it was a mere trail through the woods, 
blocked up by fallen trees, over which those 
going to church had to make their way. A 
meeting was called and four lots secured from 
Benjamin Stark at Third and Stark Streets and 
the building removed to that location. 
2. The Church Moved to New Location. 

The following letter from Father Croke gives 
an account of the moving of the church : 

'' Portland, March 7th, '54. 
"My Lord Archbishop : 

"I avail myself of the kindness of the Right 
Reverend Bishop of Nesqually to inform your 
Lordship by a short letter of how we have pro- 
gressed with the moving of our church. 

''We completed the work, thank God, with- 
out the slightest accident and our church now 
stands on its new site as perfect and as strong 
as if it were built there. The $500, the amount 
paid for moving it, has been paid; but we still 
owe the contractor for the enlargement of the 
sacristy, which cost about $80. This we ex- 
pect to pay in a few days. Captains Couch and 
Flanders have given of their own free will two 
lots out of the four on w^hich the church for- 
merly stood, and have offered us the remaining 
two for two hundred dollars. They have thus 
compromised the matter, and are prepared to 



PORTLAND BECOMES A CATHOLIC CENTER 167 

make out a full deed for those two lots as soon 
as we give np the deed which is still in your 
Lordship's possession — and of which you fur- 
nished me a copy. This deed they desired me 
to write for, as they cannot sell the other two 
lots until they get this deed. Hence, My Lord, 
it would be well that you would send it by his 
Lordship of Nesqually on his return from Wil- 
lamette. If at Oregon City you can tell him 
where to find it. 

''On last Sunday we had Vespers at 6 o'clock 
in the afternoon followed by the Benediction 
of the Most Holy Sacrament and Sermon. The 
church was nearly full. 

''Recommending myself to your Lordship's 
prayers and holy sacrifices, I have the honor to 
remain 

"Your Lordship's very humble and obedient 
servant, "JAMES CROKE." 

When in 1862 the Archbishop removed his 
residence from Oregon City to Portland this 
humble church became his pro-Cathedral. 

3. Catholic Census in 1855. 

Another letter of Father Croke gives us in- 
teresting information about the extent of his 
missionar}^ operations : 

"Portland, May 17th, 1855. 
"My Lord Archbishop : 

"I have the honor to submit to your Lordship 
a full and complete census not only of the 
Catholics of Portland and vicinity, but also of 



168 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

all the Missions and stations visited by me in 
the years 1853-4. I hope you will find it satis- 
factory. I intended appending to the census 
of the south a description of the various towns, 
their relative distances and a general 'i'tine- 
raire' for the use of a traveling priest, but I 
have got no time just now but shall take the 
earliest opportunity of doing so and of also 
making a kind of ecclesiastical map of the 
country, showing the different points where 
Catholics are settled, the most convenient sites 
for missions, etc. 

''You will find at the end of the census a 
general resume showing at one glance the Cath- 
olic population adult and minor of each town 
in Oregon, commencing at Jacksonville, which 
I have taken as the center. Starting from Jack- 
sonville I go south to the southern extremity of 
your Lordship's jurisdiction, then traveling up 
the seashore to the Umpqua Valley, commenc- 
ing again at Canyonville, the extreme southern 
point of the Umpqua, I travel north to the Wil- 
lamette, taking in all the various stations to 
the Calapooia Mountains, thence into the Wil- 
lamette Valley, traveling north until I join the 
missionary posts where there are resident cler- 
gymen. As I lost some of my notes, and as it 
is impossible for a priest in a flying mission to 
find out all the Catholics you cannot suppose 
that I have given the names of all. I have only 
given the names of those I have actually seen 
with one or two exceptions. You will find by 
the report that the entire number of Catholics 
in the Rogue River, Umpqua and Willamette 
Valleys amounts to : 



PORTLAND BECOMES A CATHOLIC CENTER 169 

Adults 239 

Minors under 12 64 

Total 303 

Of these vou have in the Rogue River : 

Adults ^ 100 

Minors 5 — 105 

Umpqua Valley : 

Adults 65 

Minors 20— 85 

AVillamette Valley : 

Adults 74 

Minors 39—113 

303 

''I have the honor to remain Your Lordship's 
humble and obedient servant, 

''JAS. CROKE, Mis." 

4. The Archbishop Secures the Sisters of the Holy 
Names. 

When Archbishop Blanchet returned from 
South America in 1857, he learned that his 
brother, the Bishop of Nesqually, had in- 
duced the Sisters of Charitj- of Providence in 
^Montreal to accept a foundation at Vancouver. 
Further, Bishop Demers had applied to the 
Sisters of St. Anne to establish a Convent at 
Victoria. The Archbishop determined to seek 
aid in securing religious for his diocese 
from Bishop Bourget, at whose hands he 



170 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

had received episcopal consecration. He at 
once secured a block at what is now 
Fifth and Market Streets, Portland, on 
w^hich stood an untenanted frame building. 
With this location and accommodation to offer 
he set out for Montreal to find Sisters to open 
a school. Acting under the advice of their 
founder, Bishop Bourget, the Sisters of the 
Holy Names of Jesus and Mary responded to 
the call of the Archbishop. Twelve devoted 
Sisters, with Mother Alphonse as Superior, left 
Montreal in September and after a long and at 
times perilous sea voyage, reached Portland on 
the 21st of October, 1859. These Sisters opened 
St. Mary's Academy in humble quarters on the 
site of the present location of the Academy and 
College and again lighted the torch of Chris- 
tian education in the archdiocese. 

5. St. Mary's Academy Opened. 

The author of ''Gleanings of Fifty Years" 
writes of the arrival of the Sisters: ''Even 
St. Francis of Assisi would have had no reason 
to complain of the homage paid to 'Lady Pov- 
erty' in the first humble domicile of the Sisters 
of the Holy Names in Portland. The luxury 
of bedsteads and mattresses was reserved for 
more prosperous days; the carpet-bags of the 
travelers were their pillows; the lately pur- 



PORTLAND BECOMES A CATHOLIC CENTER 171 

chased blankets by some unexpected process of 
multiplication, sufficed for the covering of the 
twelve Sisters. Was theirs a peaceful slumber 
on their bed of boards, or was it haunted by 
tearful visions of old-home comforts? The 
answer is told by the joyful note of courage 
ringing through the convent annals." (Page 73.) 
The new school was opened November 6, 1859, 
with six pupils. Ten days later a little orphan 
girl was received as the first boarder. For 
some years a large percentage of the smaller 
girl boarders were orphans. Toward the end 
of November a class was opened for boys. 

6. Schools Reopened at Oregon City and St. Paul. 

On April 23, 1860, the Sisters established a 
school at Oregon City, where the Archbishop 
still resided. The blight that rested on Ore- 
gon City was not removed until the State re- 
turned McLoughlin's Land Claim to his heirs 
in October, 1862. Two months before the Leg- 
islative Assembly took this action. Archbishop 
Blanchet removed to Portland and the convent 
school was not re-opened in the fall of that 
year. On February 1, 1861, the Sisters opened 
a school at St. Paul in the building vacated by 
the Sisters of Notre Dame. A new class of 
settlers had taken up farms around St. Paul 
after the decimation of the population by the 



172 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

rush to the gold mines, and French Prairie 
again wore an air of prosperity. Here Father 
Fabian Malo was pastor to a devoted flock. 
The very winter following the re-establishment 
of the school at St. Paul there came a terrific 
flood that swept away the village of Champoeg, 
causing great loss of life. The flood was fol- 
lowed by intense cold that blocked the Willam- 
ette River with ice. Lack of fuel and provis- 
ions produced great sufi^ering that necessitated 
bringing two of the exhausted Sisters and all 
the remaining pupils from St. Paul to St. 
Mary's Academy in Portland. 

7. Other Early Schools. 

In August, 1861, under the direction of 
Father Patrick Mackin, Pastor of Portland, 
the Sisters opened a school for boys beside the 
church on Third and Stark Streets, and on the 
reconstruction of the Academy in 1862 a home 
was provided for orphan boys. The Sisters of 
the Holy Names extended their school work 
to Salem in 1863. Here the few Catholic fam- 
ilies in what was then a strong Methodist com- 
munity were under the spiritual care of Rev. 
Leopold Dielman. An unusued Masonic hall 
was purchased and converted into a convent. 
In the autumn of 1864 at the invitation of Rev. 
L. Vermeesch, the Sisters established a school 



PORTLAND BECOMES A CATHOLIC CENTER 173 

at The Dalles, and the following year became 
pioneers of Catholic education in Southern Ore- 
gon by opening a school at Jacksonville at the 
request of the pastor, Rev. F. X. Blanchet. It 
was here that Father Croke had built a church 
in 1858. It was here too that the Sisters had 
soon an opportunity of devoting themselves to 
works of charity as well as of education. In 
1869 an epidemic of smallpox broke out and for 
two months the Sisters administered to the suf- 
fering and dying regardless of their own health. 
The heroism endeared them to every class of 
the little community. 

8. The Pioneer Sisters of Providence. 

Bishop Blanchet of Nesqually applied to 
Bishop Bourget of Montreal in 1856 for Sisters 
of Providence. On the 3rd of November of 
that year five Sisters of Providence left Mon- 
treal by direction of Bishop Bourget for the 
Western Mission. They sailed on the steam- 
ship Illinois for Panama. Crossing the Isthmus 
they embarked for San Francisco and from 
there the steamship Oregon brought them to 
Vancouver, Washington Territory, December 8, 
1856. The first Superior was Mother Joseph, a 
heroic woman whose name will always be asso- 
ciated with deeds of mercy and charity in the 
pioneer history of the Pacific Northwest. For 



174 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

two months the new arrivals suffered many 
privations before their house was fitted up for 
use. In February, 1857, they opened a little 
school with seven pupils, which rapidly grew 
in numbers. The same year two orphans were 
received by them. The following year, April 
9, 1858, St. Joseph's Hospital was opened in 
Vancouver. 

The Sisters of Providence opened a school at 
Walla Walla at the invitation of the pastor. 
Father Brouillet, February 18, 1864. On the 
25th of November, the previous year, they 
established a school at Steilacoom. This school 
was closed in 1875 when the population mi- 
grated to the new town of Tacoma. St. Vin- 
cent's Hospital, Portland, was opened May 10, 
1875; Providence Hospital, Seattle, at the invi- 
tation of pioneer Father Prefontaine, ]\Iay 2, 
1877; the Hospital at Walla Walla, February 
27, 1880; Sacred Heart Hospital, Spokane, April 
30, 1886; St. Mary's Hospital, New Westmin- 
ster, B. C, July 6, 1886. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

A MISSIONARY TOUR IN 1853. 

(Father Croke's Letters.) 
1. Father Croke Visits Salem and Albany. 

Jesse Applegate's, Umpqua Valley, 

Aug. 9th, 1853. 
"My Lord: 

"I arrived here this evening after a ride of 
32 miles today. I stopped with Mr. Dubois at 
Salem, and was very hospitably received by 
him. I saw no house that would answer as a 
church for the moment, but there is a large 
room over the store of Wm. Griswold, which 
could be rented cheap whenever required, $5.00 
for a Sunday. I met no Catholic at Salem but 
Mr. Dubois. 0''Reilly is at Rogue River and 
Mr. Sheely, the lawyer, was at Scottsburgh. 
I passed through Santiam City and Syracuse 
and got to Albany the day I left Salem (Thurs- 
day). Albany is a considerable town about 24 
miles south of Salem. It is built on a large 
plain eight miles from Marysville, and is sup- 
ported by a very extensive country. Judging 
from the appearance of the town that it is 
likely to progress rapidly and become a post 
of some importance, I called upon the pro- 
prietors, Messrs. Monteith, two brothers, to 
endeavor to get some lots. They appear to 
be very liberally disposed, but refused to give 
a deed for lots until we w^ere going to build. 
They offered two lots in the very center of the 



176 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

town, but only on condition that we would 
commence to erect a church at furthest next 
Spring. Of course, I could not accept them on 
those conditions, I found old O'Reilly on his 
claim fourteen miles south of Marysville. As 
my horse was tired, and as it was approaching 
Sunday, I thought it better to remain with him 
in order to have an opportunity of saying Mass 
on Sunday. His house is a most miserable 
hovel and so small that I'd scarcely find a cor- 
ner to fix me up an altar. I succeeded, how- 
ever, in arranging a few boards against the 
wall, and having spread upon them my altar- 
cloths and ornaments celebrated the first Mass 
that w^as ever said in this part of the country. 
All the neighborhood are very bigoted against 
the Catholics, and hold O'Reilly in abhorrence. 
He received the Sacraments of Confession and 
Communion, and appears to me to be a very 
good old man. His wife and children are 
Protestants, but very well disposed towards the 
Catholic religion. His wife, in fact, believes 
in it, and is reading Catholic books. I prom- 
ised to spend some days there when returning 
in order to instruct her, and receive her into 
the Church if properly disposed. 

On yesterday (Monday) I left O'Reilly's and 
traveled thirty miles, and here I am today. My 
Lord, at Applegate's. He is not at home, but 
his wife has received me very kindly, and has 
invited me to remain some days, which I prom- 
ised to do when coming back from Jacksonville. 
Tomorrow I leave here for Winchester, distant 



A MISSIONARY TOUR IN 1853 177 

from here about 25 miles. It is the last place 
of any note that I will meet until I arrive at 
the end of my journey. 

2. Difficulties of Missionary Life. 

"Kouse Bay, Lower Umpqua, 

''Aug. 26, 1853. 
"Monseigneur : 

''Since last I have had the honor of writing 
to Your Lordship, many circumstances have 
occurred to retard my progress. I am already 
heartily tired of my missionary tour, and 
anxiously look forward to the day when I shall 
be able to return to civilized life and to the so- 
ciety of virtuous friends. Through all this 
country, with very few exceptions, the state of 
morality is at its lowest ebb, the few Catholics 
even that I meet are so only in name, and I as- 
sure Your Lordship that the prospects for a 
missionary are discouraging and gloomy in the 
extreme; and to add to his mortifications the 
priest is not only obliged to breathe an atmos- 
phere of corruption, but he is deprived of the 
happiness of celebrating the divine sacrifice of 
the Mass, frequently even on Sundays. The 
only consolation that he has is to pray that 
God will have mercy on his people, and to 
unite his intention with those who have the 
happiness of assisting at the holy offices of the 
Church. It is only when deprived of that 
sacred privilege that we can properly appre- 
ciate the consolation of our holy religion and 
the comforts of offering up the divine sacrifice 



178 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

of the Mass. It is the will of God, however, 
that such should be the case for a short time, 
and I humbly resign myself to His holy will 
and to the wishes of my superior. I shall now 
give Your Lordship a brief sketch of the prin- 
cipal places I have visited since my last letter, 
and how I actually find myself. 

3. On the Banks of the South Umpqua. 

*^ After leaving ^Ir. Jesse Applegate's, where 
I was most kindly and hospitably received by 
Mrs. Applegate in the absence of her husband, 
I proceeded on my journey south, and arrived 
that evening at Captain Kilburn's, who lives 
wdthin one mile of Winchester and some 27 
miles from Applegate's. The Captain and his 
family received me most kindly and pressed me 
very urgently to remain some days with them. 
I passed the night with them after a wearisome 
and hungry day, and started next morning for 
what is called ''The Canyon." Winchester, 
one mile from Captain Kilburn's, is a very 
small town, built on the left bank of the North 
Umpqua River. It consists of a few houses, 
one of which is a store belonging to General 
Lane's son-in-law. Though it is the great thor- 
oughfare from the mines to Scottsburg, it is too 
far from the head of navigation to become a 
place of any considerable commercial import- 
ance. It may, however, in the course of time 
become a large inland town, as it is surrounded 
by a good farming country. I visited Rev. Mr. 
AVilbur, INIethodist preacher, who resides here, 
and with whom I was acquainted in Portland, 



A MISSIONARY TOUR IN 1853 179 

He is the presiding elder of Southern Oregon, 
and generally known through the country. He 
received me very politely, gave me some in- 
formation regarding the morality of the mining 
regions, and offered me the hospitality of his 
house on my return. From him I received the 
first intimation of the difficulties between the 
whites and the Rogue River Indians and the 
dangers of the journey to the mines. I re- 
garded it, however, rather lightly, and resolved 
to push on as far as I could. That night, not 
finding a house to stop at, I staked my horse on 
the banks of the South Umpqua River and slept 
soundly under the shade of a fine oak tree, with 
my saddle bags as my pillow, and a large fire 
to keep me warm. 

4. Settlers Terrorized by the Indians. 

''When I arrived at The Canyon, which is a 
narrow pass twelve miles long, through the 
Umpqua Mountains which separate the Rogue 
River Valley from the Umpqua, I found it im- 
possible for me to proceed any farther. The 
Indians are under arms in great numbers and 
have attacked the whites, even in the tow^n of 
Jacksonville. The communication between here 
and the mines is entirely cut off, and some pack- 
ers w^ho have gone through the canj^on have 
been obliged to return. All the settlers who 
live in the Rogue River Country have left their 
claims and gone to Jacksonville. Some 13 or 
14 -whites have been killed and several houses 
along the road have been burned down by the 
Indians. Some packers have represented the 



180 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

number of the latter as being very great, but 
the reports are so conflicting that it is difficult 
to form a correct judgment as to their number 
or the real state of affairs. It is certain, how- 
ever, that several tribes of Indians, viz : the 
Shastas, Klamath Lakes, the Grave Creeks, the 
Cow Creeks, the Coquilles, and some say the 
South Umpquas have united, and that their 
number cannot be less than 600 warriors. They 
are all well armed — they have taken from the 
whites 100 head of cattle, are encamped to- 
gether at Table Rock, near Jacksonville and 
determined to fight to the last. They have al- 
ready had two skirmishes with the whites and 
have been victorious each time. Mr. Hardy, 
the lawyer and former representative, is 
amongst the killed. General Lane passed 
through The Canyon about the 20th inst. with 
some men to endeavor to put a stop to hostili- 
ties. I remained some time at The Canyon 
waiting for company to pass on, but finding 
none, and it being madness to risk the journey 
alone, particularly as the houses along the 
road have been all abandoned, I returned to 
Winchester where I would be under less ex- 
pense and could find something to eat for my 
horse. When I got near Winchester I found 
my horse perfectly disabled. His laziness in- 
creased one hundred fold and his back was all 
swelled so that I could not put his saddle on. 
I traded him off with a farmer for a nice In- 
dian mare w^hich, though small, is an excel- 
lent traveler. 



A MISSIONARY TOUR IN 1853 181 

5. A Trip to Coos Bay. 

I stopped two days near Winchester with an 
Irishman whom I knew at Oregon City, but 
finding the news from the mines every da}^ less 
encouraging, I resolved, in order to spare time, 
to alter my plan of traveling and to go on to 
Seottsburg and visit that part of the country 
and then on my return to go to Jacksonville if 
I found it possible. I accordingly left for 
Seottsburg on the 17th of August and arrived 
there after two days' journey. Finding, on my 
arrival there, the steamer, Washington, ready 
to make a trip to Coos Bay I applied to Mr. 
Allan of the firm of AUan-McFurley & Co. with 
whom she belonged and procured a passage on 
her. We arrived the first day at Umpqua City 
at the mouth of the Umpqua River, and on Sat- 
urday the 20th we endeavored to cross the 
Umpqua bar. We found the breakers too high 
and the weather too stormy to get out to sea — 
but on the following morning, Sunda.y, we 
crossed the bar with great difficulty antl with 
much risk, and after a stormy passage we 
anchored safeh' in Coos Bay. We Avere scarce- 
ly out at sea when it blew a heavy gale from 
the northwest. The little steamer, however, 
contrary to the expectations of all on board 
who gave themselves up as lost, weathered 
the storm gallantly and, thanks to God, we got 
in safely over the bar at the Coos Bay. A com- 
pany of 20 persons, amongst Avhom is Dr. 
Shiels, have commenced to build a town six 
miles from the mouth of the bay, which prom- 
ises before long to become the largest seaport 

13 



182 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

town in Oregon. It is causing great excite- 
ment through Southern Oregon, and this it was 
that induced me to risk a passage on the AVash- 
ington in order to visit it and judge for my- 
self. The entrance to the bay is safe — the bar 
is one mile wide and I have been told that at 
all stages of the tide a ship of any tonnage will 
find plenty of water to get over it. The bay 
itself is a beautiful sheet of water, sheltered 
from all sides except the northwest. It is some 
thirty-five miles long and varies from one to 
three miles wide. At its top the Koose or Goose 
River joins it, which is navigable for some 
twenty-five miles above its mouth for ships of 
goodly size and has some very valuable water 
power. The banks of this river, as well as the 
bay, are surrounded by ver}^ extensive farming 
country covered Avith abundance of fine white 
cedar timber well calculated for lumber. They 
have found here very extensive coal banks — I 
have visited them myself — seen them worked — 
handled and tested the coal, and found it excel- 
lent, as far as I am a judge. We burned it on 
board the Washington instead of wood. This 
alone is calculated to make Coos Bay a place 
of great importance. 

6. Donation for a Church at Empire City. 

''The name of the new toAvn is 'Empire City.' 
It is already divided into lots, some of which 
have been purchased. There are at least fifty 
persons camped here in the open air. They re- 
ceived me most kindly, boarded me for nearly a 
week ''gratis" and on today have given me a 



A MISSIONARY TOUR IN 1853 183 

donation of four lots for a church with a prom- 
ise of four more as soon as the entire company 
can hold a meeting. The site of the church 
is on Third street, and commands a beautiful 
view of the bay. On tomorrow I start for 
Umpqua City. I must walk along the beach 
as the Washington has returned. There is a 
great number of Indians here. They speak no 
Chinook. From Umpqua City I go to Scotts- 
burg, where I hope to get some lots. All the 
mining business up to this has been principally 
done here, and when I passed by before there 
were two vessels in the river from San Fran- 
cisco. It's a place that's fast progressing, but 
the townsite is most miserable, and building 
ground very scarce. From Scottsburg I leave 
again for The Canyon, and if I find it possible 
to go to Jacksonville I shall try to get there. 
If not I shall return home. The last account 
from the Indians is that they have repulsed 
the whites again. Hostilities will probably 
continue throughout the Fall. I should wish 
to have some instructions from Your Lordship. 
A letter to Winchester written immediately 
may find me. I found a good deal of Catho- 
lics, principally French, near Winchester, but 
more about them in my next. 

''Jacksonville, Sept. 20th, 1853. 
''My Lord Archbishop: 

"I have now visited all the towns in Southern 
Oregon, and, I think, have acquired a pretty 
correct idea of the religious prospects of the 
country. Though not so bright and cheering 



184 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

as a missionary may desire, still they are nol 
altogether hopeless, and I am sure, that in the 
course of time with patience and persevering 
exertion aided by a reasonable amount oi: 
money, some good may be effected in this part 
of the country. A permanent missionary post 
with at least two priests should be established 
in some central position from which all the 
countries could be conveniently and regularly 
visited. A flying mission is useless, or at least 
the good resulting from it is but partial and 
by no means abiding. The Catholics here are 
so few and in general so lukewarm that it 
requires some time for a priest to hunt them 
out, and even then it is not in one day that he 
can inspire them with the proper disp')sitions. 
A priest, in order to do good amongst them, 
must become personally acquainted with them, 
must follow their motions from place to place, 
particularly here at the mines where the popu- 
lation is so uncertain and so floating. He must 
have an accurate idea of the country, must 
visit his post regularly, and, above all, must be 
supplied with the funds necessary to defray his 
expenses — and then, with the grace of God, 
some good may be reasonably expected to re- 
sult from his missionary labors. 

''The Indian difficulties are at last ended — 
at least for the moment, though traveling in 
this valley is far from being yet safe. Thanks 
to Almighty Providence, I have got here safe 
and unharmed amidst dangers and difficulties. 
I have had protection where I least expected it 
and am considerablv indebted to the kindness 



A MISSIONARY TOUR IN 1853 185 

of Mr. Jesse Applegate and Major B. Alford, 
formerly commander at The Dalles, for the 
privilege of traveling in their company free 
of all expenses. The Major has divided with 
me his tent and his soldier's fare, and has in- 
vited me to join his part}^ when going home. 
I am sorry, however, that I cannot avail my- 
self of his kind offer, as they are employed in 
surveying the road, and will consec[uently 
travel too slow for me. I intend starting from 
Jacksonville, with the help of God, on Monday 
the 26th instant, and expect to get to the Wil- 
lamette about the 20th of October. I must en- 
deavor to travel in company with a few others 
as the road between here and the Umpqua 
Valley is as unsafe as ever on account of scout- 
ing bands of Indians who have not yet come 
in to make a treaty and are still looked upon as 
outlaws. They are chiefly the Indians of the 
Applegate tribe and some few of what is called 
the Grave Creeks. General Lane is still here. 
His wound is almost healed, and he intends 
leaving, I believe, on tomorrow for his home. 
He has acted bravely on this occasion, and has 
shown great clemency and moderation towards 
the poor Indians. Were it not for him the war 
may not be ended for the next twelve months. 
His conduct in making a treaty with the re- 
volted tribes is severely canvassed and bitter- 
ly commented on by some who delight in scenes 
of bloodshed and cruelty, and who gloated over 
the total extermination of the Indians — but I 
am sure it cannot fail to meet the approbation 
of the better and more enlightened portion of 



186 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

the people of Oregon. The Indians here and 
along the Coast are a brave and hardy race 
of men and far superior in physical strength to 
any Indians I have seen in Oregon. Dviring 
the late war they fought bravely — and have 
proved themselves to be a very formidable foe. 
They used their muskets with perhaps as dead- 
l.y effect as the wdiites, and have shown them- 
selves superior to them in that coolness and 
caution so requisite for the kind of warfare 
they were carrying on. As Your Lordship has 
doubtless seen all the details of the proceed- 
ings in the papers I shall not trouble with any 
more particulars. I have found but very few 
Catholics here — the late disturbances have dis- 
persed them all, the mines were completely 
abandoned and it is only now that they are com- 
mencing to work them again. They have paid 
but very poorly during summer in consequence 
of the difficulty of working them for want of 
water — ])usiness here has been consequently 
dull, ])ut during winter the mining will be car- 
ried on more l)riskly. I intend preaching here 
next Sunday in the court house. Jacksonville 
is a considerable town. ])ut a good deal smaller 
than Portland. The population consists prin- 
cipally of miners, packers, storekeepers and 
gamblers, and there are very few families, 
Tivault and Angel, formerly of Oregon City, 
live near Jacksonville. As I have already vis- 
ited Scottsburgh and the Coast, the following 
is the plan I propose adopting in my journey 
home. From here to Canyon, where there are 
a few Canadians Avith whom I intend spending 



A MISSIONARY TOUR IN 1853 187 

a few days. There are some dozen capitalists 
near Winchester. I shall stay one Snnday there 
to give them an opportunity of assisting at 
Mass and attending to the religious duties. 
From thence to Salem through Marysville, 
where I intend spending another Sunda.y. When 
my business is done in Salem I cross the Wil- 
lamette and visit the upper Yamhill settlement 
as far as Dayton and Lafayette and perhaps 
the Guchtins Plains. I cross the Willamette 
again at Champoeg and hope to spend a few 
days with Father Mengarini to revive myself 
a little before starting for Oregon Cit.y. 

^^ Salem, Wednesday, Oct. 26th, 1853. 
''My Lord Archbishop: 

"I arrived in Salem this forenoon from the 
Santiam country about 11 o'clock. Since then 
I have been about town a good deal looking for 
a house to let. There are few vacant in any con- 
venient position and those would only be rented 
by the month. You would have to pay as much 
for one Sunday in the month, as if you had it 
in use for every day. On those conditions \ 
did not wish to rent one until I have further 
instructions from you. The most convenient 
place in town is a large room which formerly 
belonged to the Freemasons, but which is now 
vacant. It can be rented either by the day or 
by the month. As the owner of it is not now 
in Salem, I have not been able to know the 
terms, l)ut I am sure it will be moderate. 

''As I informed your Lordship in my letter 
from Jacksonville, I left that town about the 



188 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

end of September. Having come through The 
Canyon on the 3rd day from Jacksonville I left 
the main road and followed up Ihe South Pork 
of the Umpqua toward its source. I met some 
Canadian and halfbreed families living on it. 
I passed one Sunday in the neighborhood, and 
then came on to Winchester, where I mustered 
a small congregation on the following Sunday. 
I successively visited all the towns and valleys 
wiiere I thought I could find a Catholic, and 
here I am at present just arrivfed at Salem. As 
I have done all my business here today, I don't 
intend waiting here for Sunday as the season is 
too far advanced to waste three days. I expected 
to have been here for last Sunday, but I was de- 
tained longer than I anticipated after I crossed 
the Calapooia Mountains. I spent some days 
at old O'Reilly's, instructed his wife and 
baptized her on last Sunday morning before 
^fass. On tomorrow I leave here for Cincin- 
nati, thence I go to Dayton and cross the river 
at Baptistes Dagnine for the purpose of chang- 
ing horses at the missions as my Indian pony is 
almost worn out. 

'*Your very humble and obedient servant, 

''J. CROKE." 



CHAPTER XIX. 

FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH IN SOUTHERN OREGON. 
1. Among the Miners. 

''Crescent City, California, 

Sept. 18th, 1854. 
''My Lord Archbishop : 

"I arrived here yesterday, and leave this 
evening for the mouth of Smith's River, 15i/o 
miles north and inside the dividing line be^ 
tween Oregon and California. 

"As I passed rather rapidly through the min- 
ing regions on my way here, I have not yet 
discovered many Catholics there but I intend 
making a closer investigation on my return. 
Nearly all that I knew last year have gone to 
other diggings, and they are so scattered, and 
sometimes so far separated by almost inacces- 
sible mountains that it would take whole 
months to find them all out. Not a creek or 
gulch in the mountains that there are not some 
few scattered miners to be found searching 
after gold and sharing the wild solitudes with 
the savage grizzly bears that so much abound 
in Northern California. They wander about 
like Indians, traveling from diggings to dig- 
gings and leading a life that is not far removed 
from barbarism. The Catholics in Jacksonville 
are very anxious to have a church built amongst 
them and are willing to help to the utmost of 
their means. I have given them some hopes of 
having their wishes realized next year. Next 
spring, if the mining be successful this winter. 



190 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

there would be a fair chance of making a good 
collection toward building a little church, which 
will answer not only for that town but for all 
the mining districts for sixty or seventy miles 
all around." 

2. Plans for a Church at Jacksonville. 

Father Croke's health gave way under the 
severe trial to which his extensive mission sub- 
jected him. In 1857 he went to California and 
became affiliated with the archdiocese of San 
Francisco. When Archbishop Blanchet re- 
turned from South America, he wrote to Father 
Croke inviting him to return to his old mission 
and build a church at Jacksonville. The fol- 
lowing letters tell the result : 

'^San Francisco, August 14th, 18r)6. 

''Archbishop Blanchet: 

*'My Lord Archbishop: In a former letter I 
informed your Lordship that I did not think 
that I could visit Jacksonville this year. This 
was my conviction then. The Archbishop of 
San Francisco, however, has determined to send 
a priest through Crescent City on to Yreka to 
visit the northern part of his diocese, and I am 
the person appointed to make this mission. I 
hope to be able to start from here by the first 
steamer in September and will first land in 
Humboldt Bay and be in Crescent City about 
the 20th of same month. If your Lordship has 



FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH 191 

made no better arrangements I may spend a 
few weeks in Jacksonville as I pass through 
and superintend the erection of the church as 
far as the funds will go. Charley Casey is 
down here and won't return for a few months. 
He says the lumber is on the ground, and if 
not worked up very soon will either spoil by 
exposure or be taken off. The timbers have al- 
ready been got out according to the plan, and 
it would be impossible now to alter them except 
by getting new ones. The sills and plating are 
intended for a church of 22 feet wide by 35 
long. From what I can learn there is no cash 
on hand, but some of the principal inhabitants 
have promised to assist. If your Lordship 
could either visit the place yourself this fall or 
send a priest down I would be most happy in 
rendering all the assistance in my power in 
piloting him through the south. I will be fur- 
nished with all the vestments necessary for my 
mission from San Francisco and if you should 
deem it necessary to write a letter directed to 
me, Crescent City, in care of James Hughes, at 
any time before the end of September or to 
Jacksonville, care of Chas. Casey, before the 
end of October, will reach me. When I leave 
Jacksonville I intend to return to San Fran- 
cisco by Yreka and Shasta overland to Sacra- 
mento." 

''Crescent City, Sept. 21st, 1858. 
"My Lord Archbishop: 

"I feel rejoiced that your Lordship has at 
length visited the southern part of your Dio- 
cese. I am afraid you will find it very rough, 



192 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

and the population very thin, owing to the 
Eraser River excitement. I shall hasten to 
join yonr Lordship as soon as I can get through 
with my mission in this section of country. I 
shall be in Jacksonville by the middle of Octo- 
ber." 



3. Collecting for the Church. 

''Jacksonville, Nov. 9th, 1858. 
"My Lord Archbishop: 

"I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt 
of Your Grace's two letters, one from Canon- 
ville, and the other, on last evening, from 
Roseburg. I was sorry to learn by your letter 
from Canonville of your sufferings and adven- 
tures during the first few days after leaving 
here, but I feel grateful that no serious accident 
occurred. Buggy riding in this country is 
rather adventurous, as I know by my own expe- 
rience. As I leave Jacksonville today for 
Yreka in order to continue my mission I write 
Your Grace a very brief account of mj- pro- 
ceedings and success thus far. 

"On the Sunday after your departure from 
here I said Mass in Jacksonville, and on the fol- 
lowing morning started for Althouse, via Ster- 
lingville and Applegate, in order to collect. I 
am sure your Lordship will feel glad to learn 
that the Lord blessed the work and that I suc- 
ceeded admirably well. I arrived at Sailor 
Diggings, seventy miles from Jacksonville, on 
Tuesday evening at 8 o'clock, and early on the 



FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH 193 

following morning commenced collecting in a 
place called Allen Gulch, where the greater 
part of the miners are working. In two days I 
collected there $400 in cash, a sum far above my 
most sanguine expectations for a place where 
there are not more than seventy men in all, 
and where they have been several months idle 
for w^ant of water. Every man on the Gulch 
i — Catholic, Protestant and Orangeman, gave 
something. The Catholics, God bless them, 
gave nobly. In the friend's house where I gen- 
erally stop, I raised $200 in cash, one hundred 
from himself, fifty from his partner and fifty 
from his hands. This young man's name is 
Frank Larkins, and this is not the first time 
that I have had reason to be grateful for his 
generosity. I gave no credit, took no names 
down until I received the money, and thus I 
realized the $400 in cash. 

4. At the Forks of Althouse Creek. 

''From Allen Gulch I started on Thursday for 
Althouse Creek, a distance of ten miles. As 
the mountains along the creek are very rough, 
and the miners generally work in the most 
rugged ravines and in the bed of the creek, I 
was obliged to leave my horse at the ''town" 
called Browntow^n and take it on foot for three 
days, traveling on an average twenty-five miles 
a day. At 8 o'clock on Friday I started up 
the creek with a Catholic young man as guide 
and at 5 o'clock that evening had $200 more 
collected in cash. The miners are so scattered 
and the road so rough that I only made four 



194 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

miles in a direct line driving the whole day, 
though I suppose I walked at least twenty-five. 
I stopped that night at a little trading post 
called "Grass Flat" and on the following morn- 
ing continued my journey with another young 
man as guide for the forks of Althouse Creek. 
I made $198 that day. Making in all for Alt- 
house, with a few other dollars which I re- 
ceived, over $400. There are a great deal more 
miners here than in Allen Gulch, but very many 
of them are just returned from Fraser River, 
and are scarcely making their board. They 
all, however, paid a little. I took so small as 
fifty cents in a grocery store from a man who 
was going to spend it for whiskey. I told him 
it would buy tAvo pounds of nails. The next 
day being Sunday, I had no vestments (expect- 
ing to have been back in Jacksonville) and 
could not say Mass. I am less scrupulous than 
your Grace on the point of traveling on Sunday, 
so I walked back by a better road along the 
side of mountains mj- two days' journey in 
three hours to Browntown. That evening at 
three o'clock I started for Kerbyville; called to 
see Mr. Allen, who lives near it, for his sub- 
scription, but received nothing from him. The 
next evening I started for Jacksonville and col- 
lected $50 more on the road and arrived in 
Jacksonville on Tuesday night, having been ab- 
sent eight days. I was very sorry not to be able 
to say Mass on All Saints and All Souls, but it 
was impossible for me to get back sooner with- 
out leaving my job unfinished. 



FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH 195 

5. Construction Begun. 

''Thus you see, My Lord, that in the neglected 
part of Oregon I collected in a few days in 
cash the sum of $856 for a church to be built 
sixty-five miles from them. This was very for- 
tunate for otherwise 1 could scarcely meet the 
expenses as I have been able to collect only $30 
in Jacksonville since you left. They all prom- 
ise, will give their names very readily to be 
paid at some future day, but names won't build 
a church and I can't spend much time idl}^ 
They promise, however, to pay when I come 
back. The poor miners, on whom alone I count, 
have nothing just now. i\Iy plan is to go to 
Yreka, and to return when the rain sets in and 
spend one or two days collecting before my 
final departure for Salmon River. Your Lord- 
ship is no doubt anxious to hear about the 
church. It was raised on the Octave of All 
Saints, 8th November, but as the carpenters 
are busy finishing Anderson's house (which 
will be finished in a few days) they are not 
able to go ahead as j^et very rapidly. They 
have two carpenters at work dressing the sid- 
ing. I have had a good solid w^all of rock 
pointed with mortar built all around under the 
sills. It is nearly two feet square at the cor- 
ners. It cost about $50. Your Lordship's sug- 
gestion about the height of the piers arrived 
too late to be attended to. The church, how- 
ever, looks very high and when completed will 
be a neat building. It looks very short. It 
is 36 by 23. 



196 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

6. Recalled to San Francisco. 

''Jacksonville, 0. T.. Dec. 15, '58. 
''My Lord Archbishop: 

"I received your Grace's favor of November 
addressed to me at Yreka and was ^lad to learn 
that you got home safe. I left Yreka for this 
place on Monday, December 13th, and leave 
tomorrow morning for home. I regret that 1 
could not spend more than two days here. 1 
have yet a good deal to do in Yreka, and have 
received a letter from Archbishop Alemany de- 
siring me -to be in San Francisco immediately 
after Christmas. 

"On coming here from Yreka, I was surprised 
to find so little done to the church in my ab- 
sence. The carpenters give for excuse that 
they had not the necessary lumber for the Avin- 
dow frames, which must be thoroughly sea- 
soned. The.y have planed all the siding and 
flooring, have all the lumber required now and 
will go ahead as quick as necessary with the 
work. 1 am sure your Grace sees the necessity 
of sending a priest to the district as soon as 
possible. If possible he should speak English 
perfectly and preach well. All here send your 
Grace their respectful compliments. If at any 
time, consistently with obedience to my Supe- 
rior, I can do any good for any portion of Ore- 
gon, I will be happy in being at your Lordship's 
disposal. I hope to have the pleasure of seeing 
you soon in San Francisco, and recommending 



FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH 197 

myself to your Lordship's prayers I have the 

honor to remain, with due esteem and respect, 

''Your very humble and obedient servant, 

^' JAMES CROKE." 

Father Croke now bade adieu to Oregon. He 
afterwards became Vicar General of San Fran- 
cisco. He is remembered as one of the ablest 
and most devoted priests of pioneer days in 
the West. He was a brother of xirchbisho]) 
Croke of Cashel. 



14 




MOST REV. C. J. SEGHERS 
Apostle of Alaska 



CHAPTER XX. 

AMONG THE INDIANS. 

1. Obstacles to Successful Work Among the 
Indians. 

The story of the beginning of Catholic Indian 
missions among the Indians of Oregon has been 
told in an earlier chapter. For an understand- 
ing of the work among them subsequent to the 
establishment of the hierarchy (1845) we must 
bear in mind the following facts. The Indians 
of Western Oregon were much inferior both 
physically and morally to their brethren in the 
Rocky Mountains. This condition became ac- 
centuated when the whites came into the coun- 
try, for the Indians of the interior met the 
whites only occasionally while those of the 
coast had an opportunity to learn all the worst 
vices of the whites from daily intercourse. Even 
the mission schools do not seem to have helped 
the Willamette Vallej^ savages. Medorem 
Crawford was a teacher at the Methodist Mis- 
sion school at Salem in the forties. He writes of 
the work in which he was engaged as follows: 
''The general result of all that work on the part 
of the missionaries here was deleterious to the 
Indians. As fast as we learnt the boys to talk 
English they would learn to swear. I could 
hardly find an exception but that they turned 



200 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

out the worst Indians in the country." (Ms. 
A. 19, page 5, Bancroft Lib.) A second fact to be 
borne in mind is that during the administration 
of Dr. McLoughlin, that is until 1846, the sav- 
ages were at peace and the work of the Catholic 
missionaries Avent on apace. But after the 
Whitman massacre and the Cayuse war, the re- 
lations of the whites and Indian tribes were 
scarcely ever satisfactory and missionary work 
necessarily greatly impeded. Thus Father 
Brouillet established a mission at St. Ann's, 
among the Cayuses, on November 27, 1817. 
With the aid of an interpreter he translated the 
prayers into their language but hardly had he 
begun his work when hostilities broke out with 
the Avhites and interrupted the mission. 

2. Missionary Rivalry. 

Another obstacle to effective evangelization 
of the Indians was the bitter rivalry between 
the various missionary bands. When Bishop 
Blanchet met Dr. Whitman at Fort Walla 
Walla in 1847, the latter remarked with some 
heat: ''I know very well for what purpose 
you have come." ''All is known," replied the 
Bishop, ''I come to labor for the conversion of 
the Indians, and even of the Americans if they 
are willing to listen to me." At an earlier 
date when the Indian chiefs were being taught 



AMONG THE INDIANS 201 

to explain the Archbishop's Catholic Ladder to 
their people, Mrs. Spalding (wife of the min- 
ister at Lapwai) employed her limited artistic 
talents in painting a Protestant ladder, which 
aimed to show the broad road of the Catholic 
Church as the way to perdition and the straight 
and narrow path of Protestantism as the way 
to heaven. (This Protestant ladder is in the 
possession of Mr. Frederick V. Holman, of 
Portland.) 

3. The Work of Father Mesplie. 

In view^ of these facts it is not surprising that 
the later missions among the Indians did not 
achieve the success which the earlier attempts 
promised. Nevertheless there was no lack of 
zeal on the part of the missionaries. The man- 
tle of DeSmet seems to have fallen on Father 
Toussaint Mesplie. Ordained to the priesthood 
in 1850, he had already begun his work among 
the savages in the Willamette Valley. In 1849 
he opened a mission among the Chinooks at 
the mouth of the Columbia and attended the 
various tribes in the neighborhood. Here too 
he visited the Catholic soldiers at Fort Astoria 
and laid the foundation for his extended and 
valuable service as army chaplain. After his 
ordination he was sent to The Dalles, where he 
took charge of St. Peter's Mission and attended 



202 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

to the spiritual wants of the Waseos and va- 
rious confederated tribes who were later placed 
in the Warm Springs Reservation. He gained 
such influence among these tribes that in the 
fall of 1855 when the Indian outbreak began, he 
prevailed upon the Wasco tribe not to join 
with the others against the whites. During the 
period of hostilities he was in communication 
with the various military posts and kept them 
informed of the hostile plans of the savages. 

4. Appointed United States Post Chaplain. 

In 1863 Father Mesplie was sent to take 
charge of the new mining settlements that were 
springing up in Idaho Territory. While at- 
tending to the spiritual Avants of the Irish 
miners, he did not forget the needs of the va- 
rious Indian tribes in the neighborhood. He 
found time also to perform the duties of chap- 
lain to the soldiers at Fort Boise. In 1861: the 
Shoshone and Bannock tribes of Indians be- 
came very troublesome. These Indians held 
full control of the emigrant and stage roads 
leading to Oregon and Washington Territory. 
Every few days, says an eye-witness,^ the man- 
gled corpse of some stage driver, frontier settler 
or venturesome miner or unfortunate emigrant 

IJohn A. O'Farrell, who donated the block of land 
foi the first Catholic church in Boise. 



AMONG THE INDIANS 203 

would be brought to Fort Boise for interment, 
a victim to the brutality of the savages. 
Father Mesplie set out for the camps of the 
hostile tribes and showed them the error of 
their ways with such effect that he gathered 
more than two hundred of them on the parade 
ground of Fort Boise and baptized them all on 
a single day. It is reliably asserted that none 
of these Indians who were converted by Father 
Mesplie ever again bore arms against the 
whites. In recognition of his services he was 
appointed United States Post Chaplain in Au- 
gust, 1872, and assigned to Fort Boise. 

5. Father Croquet at Grand Ronde. 

Another name inseparably connected with 
the later Indian missions in Oregon is that of 
Father Adrian Croquet, a native of Belgium, 
who arrived at Oregon City in 1859 to devote 
himself to the spiritual welfare of the savages. 
Father Croquet was initiated into his new field 
of labor by Father Mesplie, whom he accom- 
panied ''on an apostolic expedition among sev- 
eral Indian tribes dwelling along the banks of 
the Columbia River in the neighborhood of 
Mount Hood. We were everywhere most affec- 
tionately received, the chiefs honoring us by 
offering the calumet." In October, 1860, 
Father Croquet was definitely settled in the 



204 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

Grand Ronde Indian Reservation in Yamhill 
County. In reference to his first visit to the 
Reservation he writes: ''We were most cor- 
dially w^elcomed by the Captain and the officers 
of Fort Yamhill, which borders on the Reserva- 
tion. We celebrated INIass at the Fort, 
preached and admitted to the Sacraments the 
soldiers and the members of a few Catholic 
families occupying land in the neighborhood. 
The Indians were not forgotten ; the Agent, 
Mr. ]\Iiller, giving us full scope to do all the 
good we could. He is a most estimable offi- 
cial, who takes the poor Redman's interests to 
heart, and whose sympathies are all with the 
Catholic missionaries." Father Croc^uet also 
had charge of the Siletz Reservation but there 
he was not able to report the same kind treat- 
ment on the part of the Agent that he had expe- 
rienced at Grand Ronde. He was successful, 
however, in gaining the good will of the In- 
dians. After nearly forty years of untiring 
and devoted service of the spiritual welfare of 
his Indian 1)rethren the saintly old missionary 
returned (1898) to his fatlierland to spend his 
last da^'s. 

6. President Grant's Indian Policy. 

The constant outbreaks on the part of the 
savages resulted in the cpiartering of military 



AMONG THE INDIANS 205 

forces among them and the assigning of mili- 
tary agents to take charge of the various Indian 
stations. In 1870 President Grant inaugurated 
a new system for the government of the In- 
dians. On the 5th of December of that year he 
announced to Congress that he had determined 
to give all the Indian agencies to "such relig- 
ious denominations as had heretofore estab- 
lished missions among the Indians." In carry- 
ing out this policy many of the Catholic In- 
dian tribes were placed under non-Catholic 
control. Against this condition, Archbishop 
Blanchet, under date of July 8, 1871, addressed 
a strong letter of vigorous and indignant pro- 
test to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 
The Archbishop in his letter calls attention to 
the injustice of this procedure by recounting 
the work which the Catholic missionaries had 
done among the savages of the Oregon country 
from the earliest days. He recalled the w^ork 
of himself and of Father Demers from Fort 
Colvile to Chino;)k Point and from Eastern 
Oregon to the Fraser River ; of Father DeSmet 
and his zealous co-workers among the Flatheads 
and other Indian tribes of the Rocky ]\Ioun- 
tains; the establishment of the Yakima mis- 
sion by Father D'Herbomez, 0. M. I., subse- 
quently Bishop of British Columbia, with his in- 
defatigable brethren of the Oblates in the year 



206 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

1847 and its maintenance until the Indian war 
of 1855 forced him to retire ; the mission of 
Father Brouillet among the Cayuse tribe in 
1847, and after the war, the continuance of that 
mission at Walla Walla by Father Chirouse, O. 
M. I., from 1852 to 1856, when another outbreak 
forced him to abandon it, and its further main- 
tenance at Umatilla Reservation by Father Ver- 
meesch from 1866 to 1871. The Archbishop 
also instanced the mission of Father Mesplie at 
The Dalles and his teaching among the Wasco 
and allied tribes until these Indians were trans- 
ferred to the Warm Springs Reservation and 
finally the mission at Grand Ronde from 1860 
to 1871 established by Father Croquet, w^io 
built a church and opened a school among the 
Indians there. The Yakima Indians, among 
whom Fathers Chirouse and D'lierbomez had 
labored for many years, were in 1870 placed 
under Protestant control. 

7. Commission Unfriendly to Catholic Cause, 

In view of all these facts the Archbishop pro- 
tested that a grave injustice was being done 
to the Catholic Church. Acting as spokesman 
for all the Bishops of the country in the interest 
of the Indian missions he carried on a volum- 
inous correspondence with Mr. Delano, Secre- 
tary of the Interior, and had the Archbishops 



AMONG THE INDIANS 207 

and Bishops direct protest to the same author- 
ity. Very little results could reasonably be 
hoped for. Father DeSmet, who was in close 
touch with the administration through his em- 
ployment as a peace emissary among the sav- 
ages, wrote to the Archbishop from St. Louis 
under date of March 11, 1871, that the adminis- 
tration of the Commission on Indian Affairs 
was exclusively Protestant and disinclined to 
assign any Catholic agents to our Indian mis- 
sions. He had been invited in January of that 
year to Washington to assist at a meeting of the 
Indian Commissioners appointed by President 
Grant. He found himself the only Catholic in 
a large gathering called to apportion the Indian 
stations to the various denominations. The 
apportionment was made, he adds, with but lit- 
tle exception, to the advantage of the Protest- 
ant sects. This was of course a high-handed 
policy. The Indians were not consulted about 
the religion that was to be thrust upon them. 
Thus thousands of Catholic Indians who were 
most anxious for Catholic missionaries to min- 
ister to them and to instruct their children, 
were denied the elementary right of choosing 
their own religion. In the case of the Yakima 
and Nez Perces Reservations, the Indian Com- 
missioners in June, 1871, permitted the Cath- 
olics to build chapels but the station was under 



208 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

Protestant control. Agent Wilbur at the Yak- 
ima Keservation refused the Catholic priests 
entrance to the reservation to teach and to ad- 
minister sacraments to the sick. The agent 
frequently denied to parents the privilege of 
taking their children to the Catholic Church 
for Mass and instruction. 

8. Catholic Indian Mission Bureau Established. 

The situation developed a very acrimonious 
controversy between the Protestant and Cath- 
olic missionaries and s^^mpathizers. The con- 
troversy waxed to a white heat when Eev. H. 
H. Spalding revived the dying embers of the 
Whitman discussion and invented the Whitman 
myth to destroy the credit of the Catholic 
Indian missionaries. Spalding V. vile pamphlet 
was published in 1871 as a Senate Executive 
Document at the instance of Secretary Delano. 
This document became the official statement 
of the Whitman Legend which has been dis- 
cussed in a former chapter. In the course of 
this protracted conflict it became evident to the 
Archbishop and the Bishop of Nesqually that 
the large interests at stake required the con- 
tinual presence of an authorized representative 
of the Catholic Indian Missions at Washington. 
For this purpose Father Brouillet, who was 



AMONG THE INDIANS 209 

thoroughly acquainted with the missionary' 
field, was chosen and appointed Director of 
the Catholic Indian Mission Bureau in 1874. 
This bureau was reorganized in 1879 and con- 
tinues to efficientl}^ represent the cause of the 
Catholic Indians. 

NOTE.— Benjamin Alvord, who was stationed at The 
Dalles in 1853, as Captain of the Fourth Infantry, wrote 
in 1873 of the services of Fathers Mesplie and Pandosy, 
O. M. I.: "Father Mesplie was a Catholic priest having 
charge of a mission (not a mile from the military post of 
Fort Dalles) to the Wascoes, who were friendly and have 
always remained so, fighting on our side down to the 
recent Modoc war. 

"But the hostile Indians were Yakimas, Palouse and 
Cayuse, and one of their principal centers, one hundred 
miles north-northeast from The Dalles, was near what is 
now Fort Simcoe, where there was another mission under 
Father Pandosy. Early in the spring of 1853, Father 
Mesplie showed me confidentially a letter to him from 
Father Pandosy, making known a gigantic combination 
of all the tribes on the frontier. I took immediate steps 
to report to the Government these schemes of the In- 
dians." Had the warning been heeded the Indian war of 
1855 might have been avoided. 




k ' 




m 

Wm 






M T 'if' V 




OLP CATHEDRAL. AND FATHER FIERENS, ITS BUILDER 



CHAPTER XXL 

LAST YEARS OF ARCHBISHOP BLANCHET. 

1. Father Fierens Becomes Pastor of Portland. 

The Archbishop had taken up his residence in 
Portland in August, 1862. The following year 
Father J. T. Fierens, who had been Pastor of 
Jacksonville, was appointed to the pro-Cathe- 
dral, a charge which he held continuously for 
thirty years, until his death in 1893. In 1878, 
under the direction of Father Fierens, the old 
church structure was taken down and on the 
Feast of the Assumption of the same year the 
corner stone of a Gothic Cathedral was laid. 
For a quarter of a century the zealous and 
energetic pastor was one of the foremost men 
in public view in Portland. 

2. Erection of the Vicariate of Idaho. 

In 1868, Archbishop Blanchet was relieved 
of the care of the eastern portion of his dio- 
cese by the erection on March 3rd of that year 
of the Vicariate Apostolic of Idaho. The Sec- 
ond Plenary Council of Baltimore had requested 
this step of the Holy See. Father Lootens, who 
had gone with Bishop Demers to Vancouver in 
1852 as a pioneer missionary, was consecrated 
in August of that year as Bishop of Castaballa 
and Vicar Apostolic of Idaho. When Bishop 



212 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

Lootens went to Idaho Territory early in 1869 
he found there only two priests. Fathers Mesplie 
and Poulin. The mines which had been opened 
had not prospered; the rich mines of Idaho 
were still to be prospected. Meanwhile the 
miners left the territory in large numbers and 
the Catholic population was notably dimin- 
ished. The Sisters of the Holy Names who had 
established a school at Idaho City in 1868 were 
forced to close their doors within two years. 
Two of the best churches were destroyed by 
fire and the small missions of the Vicariate 
were badly encumbered by debt. In 1875 
Bishop Lootens, broken in health, resigned his 
p )sition and retired to Victoria. The Vicariate 
of Idaho remained under the jurisdiction of 
the Archbish' p of Oregon City until the conse- 
cration of Bishop Glorieux as titular Bishop of 
Appolonia in 1885. The diocese of Boise was 
erected August 25, 1893. 

3. Golden Jubilee of Archbishop Blanchet. 

In 1869 Archbishop Blanchet solemnly cele- 
brated the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination 
to the priesthood. In a circular to the clergy 
of the archdiocese announcing the jubliee he 
writes: ''On the 18th of the present month of 
July — which falls on a Sunday, as in 1819 — 
if it please God, we will enjoy a great favor, 



LAST YEARS OF ARCHBISHOP BLANCHET 213 

which, considering the uncertainty and fickle- 
ness of human life, we hardly expected, in the 
midst of our long missionary life in hard and 
incessant labors in this country and elsewhere. 
This favor is that of receiving from the Most 
High, the grace of completing a career long 
enough to be able to celebrate the holy sacri- 
fice of the Mass on the occasion of the jubilee 
of the fiftieth anniversary of our ordination to 
the priesthood, and of our first Mass on the 
following day. So signal a favor fills our soul 
with gladness and gratitude and moves us also 
to invite you and all the members of your de- 
voted congregation to join with us in humble 
and fervent prayer in order to render solemn 
thanksgiving to Almighty God for so great a 
favor." 

Before the Pontifical Mass celebrated by the 
Archbishop, assisted by his brother, the Bishop 
of Nesqually, the Catholic Library and Chris- 
tian Doctrine Society of Portland presented an 
address of congratulation through a committee 
of ten representative laymen of the city. ''The 
event of this day," they observe, "reminds us 
of the fact that during the present year our 
Holy Father, Pius the Ninth, has likewise had 
the good fortune of celebrating the jubilee of 
the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination to 
the priesthood. As your Grace will leave in 

15 



214 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

a short time to attend the approaching General 
Council, we take this occasion to say that our 
hearts and our prayers will be with you in your 
far distant journey. We pray that you may 
have a safe and pleasant voyage to the Holy 
See of St. Peter, that the wisdom of heaven may 
guide and direct all your labors, and that on 
the completion of the deliberations of the Ecu- 
menical Council you may have a speedy and 
safe return to your loving and dutiful children 
in Christ in this Archdiocese and that you may 
be long spared to live and labor in your chosen 
field." 

4. Departs for the Vatican Council. 

Early in October of the same year the Arch- 
bishop addressed a pastoral on the Infallibility 
of the Church to the Catholics of Portland on 
the eve of his departure for Rome to assist at 
the Vatican Council. At that Council the Arch- 
bishop was a strong advocate of the opportune- 
ness of the declaration of Papal Infallibility 
and prepared a sermon to be delivered to the 
assembled Bishops urging the promulgation of 
the decree. It is interesting to recall that the 
Archbishop in going to Rome traveled east- 
ward from San Francisco over the newly com- 
pleted Union Pacific Railway, which was to 
exert so large an influence in the material prog- 



LAST YEARS OF ARCHBISHOP BLANCHET 215 

ress of the West. In his journal of the trip 
the Archbishop tells of crossing the ocean with 
Father Ireland (now Archbishop) of St. Paul. 

5. Catholic Sentinel Established in 1870. 

The first issue of the Catholic Sentinel ap- 
peared in February, 1870, with H. L. Herman 
and J. F. Atkinson as publishers. A pros- 
pectus tells us that the publishers have decided 
to undertake the task "in consequence of the 
kind encouragement and promised support of 
the Very Rev. J. F. Fierens, Vicar General and 
Administrator of the Archdiocese." Father 
Fierens was fully awake to the necessity of an 
efficient Catholic press to promote the cause of 
religion and morality. He writes as follows: 
''We judge the time most desirable and oppor- 
tune for a Catholic publication in this State, 
when now in Ecumenical Council the Catholic 
world is assembled in the Eternal City of Rome ; 
when undoubtedl}^ our Church, by sectarian 
and infidel newspapers will be assailed, misrep- 
resented and abused, it behooves us more than 
ever to defend her, and to enlighten and dis- 
abuse so many deluded and misguided people." 
The new paper received the hearty approval of 
the Bishops of the Province. The Archbishop 
wrote from Rome under date of March 12, 
1870: ''The first number was received here on 



216 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

the 10th inst., and it took me indeed by sur- 
prise, as it was altogether unexpected, but it 
was most heartily welcomed. Many warm 
wishes for its success and long life !" The Sen- 
tinel remained for years under the able editor- 
ship of the pioneer publisher, Mr. S. J. Mc- 
Cormick, one of the first mayors of Portland. 

6. St. Michael's College Opened. 

In 1871 St. Michael's College for boys was 
opened at Portland. More than sixty pupils 
presented themselves the opening day, August 
28th. The work of building the college was 
undertaken and brought to completion in three 
months. The success of the school was largely 
due to the energetic efforts of Father Fierens 
and the capable direction of the first principal. 
Rev. A. J. Glorieux, now Bishop of Boise. Sub- 
sequently the school passed into the charge of 
Rev. Bernard Orth, who later became Arch- 
bishop of Victoria. Contemporary accounts tell 
us that the College had a brass band, telegraph 
apparatus, physical laboratory and a printing 
office. The students published a monthly 
paper, The Archangel, which enjoj^ed a cir- 
culation of about 500. 



LAST YEARS OF ARCHBISHOP BLANCHET 217 

7. St. Vincent's Hospital Established in Portland. 

The Sisters of Providence, who had estab- 
lished a hospital in Vancouver in 1858, accepted 
an invitation to open a similar institution in 
Portland. The new building was dedicated in 
the presence of a large assemblage on July 19, 
1875. ''We may feel proud of our St. Vincent's 
Hospital," said Father Fierens, in his address 
at the dedicatory services, ''this future home of 
the sick, as it is the first in the State, and one 
in which not only Catholics but every citizen is 
interested, as it admits all religionists. We 
must also thank the good citizens of Portland 
who have aided with no sparing hand in its 
erection ; they knew ' that such enterprises as 
these are limited in their benefits to no particu- 
lar creed, but that their good results must affect 
the entire community. So men who were not 
of our faith have not hesitated to give of their 
means to push this enterprise forward." 

8. Active Administration of Archbishop Blanchet 

Closes. 

The year 1870 may be considered as the last 
of the active administration of Archbishop 
Blanchet. At that time his archdiocese con- 
tained twenty-three clergy, twenty-two 
churches, sixty-eight Sisters, nine academies 
for girls, one college for boys, four parochial 



218 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

schools for boys, two parochial schools for girls, 
an orphanage and a hospital. He had secured 
the care of two Indian reservations, one at 
Grand Ronde with a Sisters' school, the other 
at Umatilla with a school directed by the 
pastor. 

9. Archbishop Seghers Becomes Coadjutor. 

The last ten years had witnessed a marvelous 
growth, and the Archbishop feeling that his 
years were drawing to a close, sought for an 
assistant on whose shoulders he might lay the 
burdens of the archdiocese. Such an assistant 
he found in Bishop Charles John Seghers, who 
had been consecrated Bishop of Vancouver 
Island to succeed the pioneer Bishop Demers in 
1878. The extensive territory of Alaska having 
been attached to the diocese of Vancouver Is- 
land Bishop Seghers made a visitation of the 
mining camps and Indian settlements of that 
vast region, returning to Victoria in 1878, after 
fifteen months' absence, winning deservedly the 
title, ''Apostle of Alaska." On his return to 
Victoria he learned of his appointment as co- 
adjutor to the Archbishop of Oregon. On July 
1, 1879, the new Archbishop arrived in Port- 
land, where he was welcomed by the venerable 
founder of the archdiocese, surrounded by his 
clergy and laity. "This day of your reception 



LAST YEARS OF ARCHBISHOP BLANCHET 219 

in this Cathedral as my coadjutor and future 
successor is the happiest day of my life," said 
Archbishop Blanchet. On behalf of the clergy 
Father Fierens extended to the new ruler of 
the archdiocese ''united congratulations and 
our united obedience. Eleven months ago 
when first your name was mentioned in con- 
nection with the coadjutorship of this See, the 
hearts of both the clergy and the laity were 
gladdened at the prospect that our venerable 
and dearly beloved Archbishop Blanchet, who 
has planted the cross, the standard of Chris- 
tianity in this diocese, was to be suc- 
ceeded in the Episcopate by one so capable of 
carrying on the numerous works of piety, edu- 
cation and charity, which were inaugurated 
under his watchful and fatherly supervision 
and we are glad that we can entrust to your 
solicitude our young institutions and parishes 
and are confident that you will consolidate the 
good that has already been done. "^ 

10. Archbishop Blanchet's Farewell Pastoral. 

After initiating his successor into the work of 
the archdiocese the venerable Archbishop with- 
drew wholly from active labors. He published 

lArchbishop Seghers was but one of the many devoted 
priests who received their preparation for missionary 
work in the Pacific Northwest at the celebrated Univer- 
sity of Louvain in Belgium. 



220 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

his farewell pastoral on February 27, 1881, an- 
nouncing the acceptance of his resignation by 
the Holy Father. The aged prelate approached 
the altar with tottering steps to address for the 
last time his beloved congregation. His lips 
falter but he speaks with the dignity of an 
apostle: '* After sixty-two years of the priest- 
hood; after forty-three years of toilsome labor 
on this Coast ; after an episcopate of thirty-six 
years; after thirtj^-five years spent at the head 
of this Ecclesiastical Province, we may say 
with the Apostle St. Paul, 'The time of my dis- 
solution is at hand. I have finished my course' ; 
and with Holy Simeon, 'Let therefore the Lord 
dismiss His servant in peace for truly my eyes 
have seen the wonderful works of His salva- 
tion.' We came to this country accompanied 
by the late Modeste Demers, the first Bishop of 
Vancouver Island, in 1838, to preach the 
true Gospel for the first time ; and where then 
we saw nothing but 'darkness and the shadow 
of death,' we have now flourishing dioceses 
and vicariates, prosperous missions, a zealous 
clergy, fervent communities and a Catholic peo- 
ple of whom we expect great works and noble 
deeds. 

"At the age of eighty-six years, we feel that 
*we are growing old like a garment' and that 
our 'generation being at an end' our time has 



LAST YEARS OF ARCHBISHOP BLANCHET 221 

arrived to retire into a place of rest and of soli- 
tude, in order 'to recount to God all our years 
in the bitterness of our soul.' Farewell then, 
beloved and reverend brethren of the priest- 
hood, who have been so often our consolation. 
Farewell, beloved daughters, Christian virgins, 
spouses of Jesus Christ, who have so often edi- 
fied and rejoiced us with the perfume of your 
virtues. Farwell, beloved children of the laity, 
who have been so long the object of our con- 
cern and of our prayerful solicitude. Fare- 
well, young men, in whom we behold with 
pleasure the future of the Catholic Church in 
this country. Farewell, little children, the be- 
loved of Jesus Christ, and the cherished of our 
hearts. We part now but we have the firm hope 
of seeing you forever in heaven. Forget not 
your old and loving spiritual father; forgive 
him his mistakes and shortcomings; pray for 
him that his sins may be forgiven and forgotten 
when he will be called on to give an account 
of his stewardship." The Archbishop having' 
relinquished entirely the cares of the arch- 
diocese, the Pallium was conferred on his suc- 
cessor on the Feast of the Assumption, 1881. 

11. Death of Archbishop Blanchet. 

Two years later, June 18, 1883, the Patriarch 
of the West passed to his reward. Archbishop 

16 



222 PIONEER CATHOLIC HISTORY 

Seghers at the Pontifical Requiem Mass at the 
Cathedral pronounced the following words of 
eulogy with which we may appropriately close 
our account of the first missionary, first bishop, 
first metropolitan of the Pacific Northwest : 
"Do you realize it, beloved brethren? He is 
the apostle of this Coast, the foundation of this 
mission, the cornerstone of this church ; the 
seed that was sown here and grew into a large, 
lofty tree was sown by his hand; to him under 
God we owe the flourishing condition of Chris- 
tianity in this country ; and he is dead ! . , 
Do you know% beloved brethren, that a time will 
come when the name of Archbishop Blanchet 
will be coupled with those of Las Casas, the 
first missionary of Central America, of Mar- 
quette and Breboeuf, the pioneers of the cross 
in Canada and the States of the Atlantic? 

''Why? Because he was the first missionary, 
the apostle of Oregon ; he is to Oregon what St. 
Boniface was to Germany, what St. Augustine 
was to England, what St. Patrick was to Ire- 
land ! And, believe me, our children will envy 
us the blessing of having seen him, of having 
conversed with him, of having listened to his 
voice." 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



The following list contains the principal sources and authori- 
ties which have been consulted in the preparation of this 
volume. 

Archives of the Archdiocese of Oregon City. 

Manuscript Journals of Archbishops F. N. Blan- 
chet and Charles Seghers. Letters of early mis- 
sionaries, official papers, etc. 

Bagley, Clarence B. 

In the Beginning (Chapter LXIII, of Pioneer 
Reminiscences of Puget Sound, by Ezra Meeker). 
Seattle, 1905. 

Bancroft, H. H. 

History of the Northwest Coast (San Francisco, 
1884.) — Idem; History of Oregon (San Francisco, 
1886-1888). 

Barrows, Rev. Wm. 

Oregon; the Struggle for possession (American 
Commonwealth Series). (Houghton, Mifflin & 
Co., 1883.) Its inclusion in the Commonwealth 
series gave the book an unmerited reputation and 
did more to spread the Whitman myth than all 
other agencies. Barrows was made financial 
agent of Whitman College, 1887, and held the 
position until his death in 1891, 

Beadle, H. M. 

American Catholic Historical Researches. Octo- 
ber, 1899, pp. 187-197. Whitman Legend. Reaches 
same conclusion as Bourne. 



224 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Blanchet, Most Rev. F. N. 

Letters on the Catholic Indian Missions of Ore- 
gon. (Portland, 1871.) Address of the Catholic 
Clergy of Oregon on President Grant's Indian 
Policy. (Portland, 1874.) 

Blanchet, F. N. 

The Key to the Catholic Ladder. (New York, 
1859.) — Pastoral letter concerning the two first 
Dogmatic Constitutions of the Vatican Council. 
(From out the Flamminian Gate.) Portland, 
1870.— Pastoral for the Lent of 1876.— Pastoral 
Letter and Conciliary Discourse, also Address to 
Pope Pius IX. (1871.) 

Blanchet, F. N. 

Jubilee of Fiftieth Anniversary of the Ordination 
to the Priesthood of Most Rev. F. N. Blanchet. 
(Portland, July 18, 1869.) Pamphlet, p. 15. 

Blanchet, F. N. 

Historical Sketches of the Catholic Church in 
Oregon. (Catholic Sentinel Press, Portland, Ore., 
1878; new edition, Ferndale, Wash., 1910.) 

Blanchet, F. N. 

Pastoral Letter promulgating the Jubilee. (Port- 
land, 1865.) — Historical Notes and Reminiscences. 
(Portland, 1883.)— Life and Labors of Most Rev. 
F. N. Blanchet with funeral sermons by Most 
Rev. Chas. Seghers. (Portland, 1883.) 

Blanchet, Rev. F. X. 

Dix Ans sur la Cote Du Pacifique. Quebec, 1873. 

Bolduc, Rev. J. Z. B. 

Mission de la Colombie; Lettre et Journal. (Que- 
bec, 1844.) 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 225 

Bourne, Edward Gaylord 

Essays in Historical Criticism. (New York, 1901.) 
The Whitman Legend, pp. 1-109. — (Independently 
of Marshall, Bourne arrives at the conclusion that 
the Whitman Legend is wholly mythical.) 

Brouillet, Very Rev. J. B. A. 

Vicar-General of the Diocese of Walla Walla. 
Authentic Account of the Murder of Dr. Whit- 
man. (2nd ed., Portland, 1869.) Also published 
unintentionally by Ross Browne as part of his 
Report in Executive Document No. 38, House of 
Representatives, 35th Congress, 1st Session, dated 
San Francisco, Dec. 4, 1857. Brouillet's pamphlet 
was written in 1848; published in 1853. 

Burnett, Peter Hardeman 

Recollections and Opinions of An Old Pioneer. 
(New York, 1880.)— Id., The Path Which Led a 
Protestant Lawyer to the Catholic Church. New 
Edition, St. Louis, 1910. 

Catholic Sentinel 

(Files 1870-1911). Portland, Oregon. 

Catholic World Magazine 

February, 1872, pp. 665-682. Contains critical ex- 
amination of Spalding's pamphlet issued as 
Senate Document, 

Chaparro, i?.' P. 

Noticias sobre la Provincia Ecclesiastica de Ore- 
gon. (Valparaiso, Chili, 1856.) A translation 
from the French, published during the South 
American tour of Archbishop Blanchet. 



226 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Chittenden and Richardson 

DeSmet's Life and Travels, 4 vols. (Complete 
edition of DeSmet's letters. Critical.) Harpers. 

Clarke, Richard H. 

Lives of Deceased Bishops of the United States, 
Vol. III. (New York, 1888.) 

De Baets, VAhbe Maurice 

Mgr. Seghers, L'Apotre de Alaska. (Ghent and 
Paris, 1896.) 

Dugas, VAhhc G. 

Monseigneur Provencher et les Missions de la 
Riviere-Rouge. (Montreal, 1889.) 

Durieu, Rt. Rev. Paul (0. M. I.) 

Historique du Traveaux du Oblats en Oregon et 
en Colombie Britannique. (Manuscript, 12 pp.) 

Fiske, John, 

Unpublished Orations. Printed for members 
only. (The Bibliophile Society, Boston, 1909, 
489 copies.) — Discredits Whitman Legend. 

Gleanings of Fifty Years; A Sister of the Holy Names. 
Portland, 1909. A most interesting account of 
the work of the Sisters of the Holy Names of 
the Oregon Province. 

Holman, Frederick V. 

Dr. John McLoughlin, the Father of Oregon. 
(Cleveland, 1907.) A classic monograph on early 
Oregon history. 

Kane, Paul 

Wanderings of an Artist among the Indians of 
North America. (London, 1859, pp. 455). — At 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 227 

Whitman's Mission, July 22, 1847. Invited Whit- 
man to Fort Walla Walla with McBean to avoid 
danger. 

MacLeod, Rev. Xavier D. 

Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary in North 
America. New York, 1866. (Chapter XIII con- 
tains account of the journey of Sister Renilda 
and her companions. Sisters of Notre Dame, to 
Oregon in 1847.) 

Mallet, Edmond, LL. B. 

The Origin of the Oregon Mission. Art, in U. S. 
Historical Magazine, Vol. I, No, 1. (January, 
1887.) — Memoirs of Archbishop F. N, Blanchet. 
Unpublished Ms. in the library of I'Union St. 
Jean-Baptiste d'Amerique, Woonsocket, R. I. 
(Copy in possession of author of this volume.) 

Marshall, William I. 

Acquisition of Oregon and the Long Suppressed 
Evidence about Marcus Whitman, 2 vols. — (Se- 
attle, 1911.) Limited edition printed by subscrip- 
tion. (200 copies.) 

Marshall, William I. 

History vs. The Whitman Saved Oregon Story. 
(Chicago, 1894.) 

Marshall, Wm. I. 

The Hudson's Bay Company's Archives furnish 
no support to the Whitman Saved Oregon Story. 
(Chicago, 1905.) A criticism of address by 
Dwight N. Hillis. 



228 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Mesplie, Rev. Toussaint 

Petitions and papers praying for relief for act- 
ing as Indian agent and negotiator, peace-maker, 
and chaplain to the United States army. (Mis- 
cellaneous Doc. House of Representatives, Jan- 
uary 26, 1874.) 

Metropolitan Catholic Almanac and Laity's Directory 

(Baltimore). 

De Mofras, M. Duflot 

Exploration du territoire de I'Oregon, 2 vols. — 
(Paris, 1844.) Attache a la legation de France a 
Mexico. Second volume tells of Catholic mis- 
sionaries in Oregon. 

Morice, Rev. A. G. (0. M. I.) 

History of the Catholic Church in Western Can- 
ada, 2 vols. (Toronto, 1910.) — Dictionnaire His- 
torique des Canadiens et des Metis Francais de 
rOuest (Quebec, 1908.) 

Notice sur le Territoire et sur a la Mission de I'Ore- 
gon suivie de quelques lettres des soeurs de Notre 
Dame etablies a Saint-Paul du Wallamette 
(Bruxelles, 1847). (Letters of the Sisters of 
Notre Dame, dated at St. Paul, Ore., 1844-5) 

The Notre Dame Quarterly 

San Jose, Cal. The Sisters of Notre Dame on the 
Pacific Coast, 1910-1911. 

Oregon Archives 

From earliest attempt on the part of the people 
to form a government to 1849. 1841-1849. (Salem, 
Ore., 1853.) — Contains address of Canadian cit- 
izens of Oregon to the meeting at Champoeg, 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 229 

March 4, 1843, pp. 12-13. Father Accolti's an- 
swer about ammunition. Oregon Archives Ms., 
156-160. 

Oregon American and Evangelical Unionist 

Edited by Rev. J. S. Griffin, at Oregon City. Is- 
sued semi-monthly. Devoted its pages very large- 
ly to giving publicity to Spalding's insane calum- 
nies. The issue of June 7, 1848, contains Bur- 
nett's reply to Spalding. August 16, 1848, tells 
of interception of ammunition by Lieutenant 
Rodgers. 

Oregonian Files 

(Portland, 1850—.) 

Palladino, 8. J., L. B. 

Indian and White in the Northwest or a His- 
tory of Catholicity in Montana (Baltimore, 1894). 
(Has given currency to the correct explanation 
of the visit of the Rocky Mountain Indians to 
St. Louis in 1831-39.) 

Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Association 
(Portland, 1900-1911). 

Rapport sur les Missions du Diocese de Quebec 

(March, 1853,) (Lettre de Mgr. Demers.) (Juin, 
1843-0, Mission de la Columbie, pp. 22-116.) 
(Juillet, 1847,) Memoire presente a la S. Con- 
gregation de la Propaganda sur le territoire de 
rOregon par Mgr. F. N. Blanchet, eveque de 
Drasa. pp. 1-24. Extraits de diverses lettres de 
M. Demers. 



230 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Rapport siir les Missions dii Diocese de Quchec 

(Mars, 1851). Voyage de I'Eveque de Walla 
Walla. Rapport de M. Brouillet sur sa Mission de 
Ste. Ann (p. 39). 

Reports of the Board of Indian Commissioners 
(Annual, 1869—) 

Rossi, Uabhe L. 

Six Ans en Amerique (Deuxieme edition, Paris, 
1863). The author was at Vancouver, Washing- 
ton Territory in 1859. 

De Saint-Amant, M. 

Voyages en Californie, et dans I'Oregon, 1851- 
52. (Paris, 1854.) Saint-Amant sent by min- 
istry of Foreign Affairs of French Republic to 
California and Oregon to examine with view to 
French Commerce. The Empire succeeded the 
Republic. No official report but above book pub- 
lished. "Envoye du gouvernement Francaise, 
1851-2." 

Shea, John Gilmary 

History of the Catholic Church in the United 
States. Vol. IV. deals with Oregon. (New York, 
1892.) 

Snowden, Clinton A. 

History of Washington, 4 vols. (New York, 1909), 
An excellent work. The first two volumes deal 
with the pioneer history of the Oregon Country. 

Spalding, Rev. H. H. 

Senate Executive Document 37, 41st Congress, 
3rd Session. (Contains Spalding's version of 
the Whitman affair.) 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 231 

Tasse, Joseph 

Les Canadiens de I'Ouest, 2 vols. (Montreal, 
1878.) —Gabriel Franchere, Vol. II, p. 261, ff. — 
Pierre Chrysologue Pambrun, Vol. II, p. 299, ff. — 
Joseph Larocque, Vol. II., p. 321, ff. 

Transactions of the Oregon Pioneer Association 
Salem, 1874-1887. 

Van der Donct 

Founders of the Church in Idaho. American Eccl. 
Review, 1905. 

Van der Heyden, Rev. J. 

Mgr. Adrian J. Croquet, Indian Missionary. 
(Series of articles in the Records of the Amer- 
ican Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, 
1905.) 

Victor, Frances Fuller 

The Early Indian Wars of Oregon. (Salem, Ore., 
1894.) 

White, Br. Elijah 

Ten Years in Oregon; Travels and Adventures of 
Dr. E. White and Lady, West of the Rocky Mts. 
(Ithaca, N. Y., 1848.) Dr. White had been med- 
ical missionary at Methodist mission in Wil- 
lamette Valley 1838-40. Sub-Indian agent for 
Oregon, 1842-45. Only U. S. official residing in 
Oregon before 1849. 

Wilkes Exploring Expedition 

Vol. IV., p. 348 seq., tells of Blanchet's opposi- 
tion to provisional government and justifies it. 



INDEX 



Abernethy, George, 12, 112 
Abernethy Island, 111, 114 
Acadia, 17, 20 
Accolti, Rev., 135 
Alaska, Apostle of, 218 
Albany, 175 

Alexander, Fort, 89, 90 
Allemany, Archbishop, 190, 

196 
Althouse Creek, 192, 193 
Alphonse, Mother, 170 
American Board Mission, 10, 

79, 148 
American Supremacy, 95 
Angelus, First 

in Oregon, 42 

in Washington, 42 

In Victoria, 157 
Antagonism of Missionaries, 

32, 42, 200 
Antwerp, 86 
Applegate. Jesse, 176 
Asiatic Cholera, 18 
Assiniboine River, 25 
Astor, John Jacob, 1, 37, 59 
Astoria, 1. 44, 59, 86 
Avignon, 133 

Bailey, Capt., 126 
Baillargeon, Archbishop, 19 
Baltimore, Archdiocese of, 

97 

Council of, 62, 158, 211 
Bancroft Library, 94, 200 
Bannock Indian, 202 
Barrows (historian), 152, 170 
Beaver, Steamer, 91 
Belgium, 85. 131, 134 
Benton, Senator, 108 
Big Bend, 32 
Bitter Root Mission, 74 
Black Robes, 60, 71, 78 
Black Feet Indians, 75 
Blanchet. A. M. A., 18. 132, 

136, 143. 158 



Blanchet, Francois, Norbert, 
Acadian Mission, 20 
Arrived in Oregon, 12, 3*3 
Early Life, 17, 19 
Consecrated Bishop, 98 
Opens Council, 155 
Moves to Portland, 171 
Appointed to Oregon, 30 
Indian Policy, 205 
Last Years, 211 
Meets DeSmet, 84 
Journey to Oregon, 31 
Provisional Government, 93, 
96 

Blanchet, Dr. Francois, 17 

Blanchet, Mgr. F. X., 173 

Blanchet, Dr. Jean, 18 

Boise, Fort, 202, 212 

Bolduc, Rev., 90 

Bolivia, 162 

"Bostons," 48 

Bourget, Mgr., 98, 169 

Bourne (historian), 152 

Breboeuf. 222 

British Columbia, 85, 89 

Brouillet. Rev.. 137, 142, 200 

Brown, Mt., 12, 32 

Bryant, Chief Justice, 112 

Burnett, Hon. Peter, H., 46, 
49, 94, 136, 138 

Calapooia Indians, 128 
California. 46, 109, 159 

Gold Discovered. 129 
Campbellites, 138 
Canadians. 26, 27, 59, 128 
Canadien, 18 

Cape Disappointment, 107 
Cascades, 47 
Cathedral. Oregon City, 135 

Portland. 167, 211 
Catholic Census, 35, 99, 162, 

167, 217 
Catholic Indian Bureau, 208 
Catholic Ladder, 39, 44, 201 



232 



INDEX 



233 



Catholic Library Society, 213 

Catholic Sentinel, 215 

Cayuse Indians, 32, 143' 

Cedars, 23, 24 

Champoeg, 37, 172 

Chili, 162 

Chinook Indians, 35. 44 

Chirouse, Rev., 206 

Clackamas, 89 

Clarke, General, 59, 60, 70 

Codfishery. 150 

Coeur d'Alene, 75, 83 

Cologne, 133 

Colorado River, 64 

Columbia River, Commercial 

Artery, 1 
Mission to be located north 

of, 29, 31, 43 
Colvile, Fort, 32, 77, 149 
Congiata. Rev., 104 
Congress, 95 

Continental Divide, 64, 69 
Cook, Rev., 22 
Coos Bay. 177, 181 
Council Bluffs, 62. 68 
Cowlitz, 14, 30, 34. 36 
Crawford, Medorem, 199 
Crescent City, 189 
Croke, Rev., 163, 165, 190. 197 
Croquet, Rev., 203 
Cross Island, 44 

Danube, 13*3 

Dartmouth College, 145 

Dayton, 187 

Deady, Judge M., 96 

Delano, Secretary. 206 

Delorme, Rev., 133, 136 

Demers, Rev., 12, 31. 32, 41. 

89, 98. 124, 137, 155 
DeSmet, Rev., 12, 41, 61, 64, 

73. 84, 102, 107 
DeVos, Rev., 127, 135, 139 
D'Herbomez, Bishop. 205 
Dielman, Rev. L.. 172 
"Divine Pilotage." 86 
Donation Land Bill, 113, 130 
Douglas. Sir James, 33, 90 
Drasa, Bishop of, 98, 131 

Eells, Rev., 153 
Emigrants, Canadian, 149 
Empire City, 182 
End of Controversy, 15 
Ermatinger, 73 
Established Church, 3' 



Fairfield, 14 
Fierens, Rev., 211, 215 
"Fifty-four-forty or fight," 45 
Flathead Indians. 60, 101 
Fort St. James, 101 
France, 3, 134 
Frazer River, 89 
French Prairie, 27, 33, 127, 
129, 159 

Geneva, 133 

Gervais, 33, 37 

"Gleanings of Fifty Years," 

170 
Glorieux, Bishop A., 216 
Grande Ronde Reservation, 

204 
Grant, President, 204 
Gray, Wm. (historian), 61, 

94 
Great Britain, 48, 55 
"Great Reinforcement," 11, 

112 
Greene, Rev. D., 144 
Green River. 61, 64 
Gregory XVI, 131 
Gregorian Chant, 35 

Hall, Fort, 73. 81, 116 

Harney, General, 103, 104 

Hathaway, 112 

Hines, Rev., 11 

Historical Sketches (quoted), 
13, 34, 37 

Holman, Frederick V. (quot- 
ed), 5, 45, 120. 201 

Holy Names, Sisters of. 170 

Hudson's Bay Company, 
Arrives in Northwest, 1 
Coalition with Northwest 

Co., 1, 27 
Catholic Employes, 34, 69 
Monopoly of fur trade, 55 
Protection of Canadian 

Settlers. 92 
Treatment of Catholic 
Clergy, 59, 73". 156 

Hughes, James, 191 

Hunt, 37 

Idaho City, 212 

Vicariate, 75, 211 
Ignace, 60, -61, 70 
Ignatius. Sanctus, 69 
Immigrants, 46 



234 



INDEX 



Indians. Catholic Missions 
among, 199 

Indian Affairs, Commission- 
er of, 206 

Indian Massacre Averted, 47 

Indian Wars, 5, 186 

Insula, 61 

Ireland, Archbishop, 215 

Iroquois Indians. 59, 60, 62, 
69 

Irving, 69 

Jacksonville, 168, 183, 186, 

190 
Jayol, Rev., 133, 136 
Jesuits, 62, 108 

Leave Oregon, 130 

Ammunition Intercepted, 
147 
Joint Occupancy, 1, 55, 92, 

98 
Joseph, Mother. 173 
Jogues, Rev.. 59 
Jubilee. Golden, 212 
Juliopolis, Bishop of, 26 

Kalispel Indians, 77 

Kansas City, 64 

Kitson, 42 

Klamath Indians. 180 

Knight of St. Gregorv, 16, 

120 
Kootenai Indians, 83 

Le Bas, 134 

Lake Henry, 68 

Lamfrit. Rev., 156 

Lane, General, 178, 180, 185 

Langley, Fort, 89 

Langlois, Rev., 90, 123 

Larocque, Joseph, 123 

Las Casas, 222 

La Verendrye, 25 

Lee. Jason, 9, 10, 11, 61, 88, 
111 

Lewis, Joe, 141 

Lewis, Meriwether, 59 

Liquor: McL. refuses to In- 
dians, 6 

London, 29 

Long, Dr. John, 136 

Lootens, Bishop, 211 

Louvain, 219 

Lucier, Etienne, 33. 37 

Lansome. 11, 44, 112 

Lyons, 133 



McBean, 101, 137 
McCormick, S. J., 216 
McLoughlin, Dr. J. 

Early Life, 2 

Arrives in Oregon, 4 

Aids Protestant Missionar- 
ies, 9, 10, 11, 12 

Religion, 14, 15, 16. Note, 
139 

Opens First School in 
Northwest, 13 

Aids American Immi- 
grants, 44, 54. 55, 56, 119 

Aids Willamette Settle- 
ment, 37 

Land Claim at Oregon 
City, 111. 114 

Old Age, 161 

Death, 119 

Institute. 120, 124 
Macedonian Cry. 60 
MacDonald, Archibald, 81 
Mackin, Rev., 163, 172 
Male, Rev., 172 
Manitoba Lake, 25 
Maria Monk, 43 
Marriages Among Savages, 

76 
Marysville, 175 
Marquette, 222 
Marshall, T\'. I. (historian' ^ 

70, 71. 152 
Mass, First in Oregon, 32 

First in Vancouver, 33 

First in St. Paul, 38 
Mengarini. Rev., 74, 187 
Mesplie, Rev. T., 134, 16.'?, 

201, 206, 212 
Methodists, 88, 111 

Aid Immigrants, 54 

Mission, 12, 115 

Aided by McL., 10 

Oppose McL.. 53 
Mexico, 158 

Micmac Indians, 17. 20, 22 
Midnight Mass. 15, 36 
Milner's "End of Contrn 

versy," 15 
Minto. John. 51 
Miramichi Bay. 17 
Mississippi. 25 
Missouri, 68, 128. 150 
Modeste, Brig, 108, 126 
Mofras, Duflot de. 128 
Montreal, 59, 60. 98 



INDEX 



235 



Mount Hood, 203 
Mormon, 102 
Munich, 133 

Nesmith, J. W., 46 
Nesqually, Fort, 15, 41, 81 
Nesqually, Diocese of, 18, 158 
New Brunswick, 17, 20 
New Caledonia, 85, 149 
Newfoundland, 150 
New Orleans, 74 
Nevada, 1 

Nez Perces, 60, 70, 75 
Northwest Co., 1, 26, 123 
North Dakota. 25 
Notre Dame Sisters. 131 
Arrive in Oregon. 86. 124 
Academy in St. Paul, 125 
Academy in Oregon City, 

125 
Close Schools, 130 



Oblate Fathers, 137, 157 
O'Farrell, John A., 202 
Ogden, Peter Skeen, 89, 107, 

143 
Ogden, Mrs., 90 
Okanogan, 32, 81 
Oregon Citv. 15, 45, 91, 120, 

129, 160, 171 

Country, 1, 105 

Historical Assn., 48, 69 

Legislature, 118 

Milling Co., 112 

Mission, 25. 31 

Question. 95. 107 

Pioneer Association, 120 
O'Reilly, Rev., 163 
Original Oregon Land Fraud. 

Ill 



Philadelphia, Diocese of, 74 

Plamondon, 36 

Plessis, Archbishop, 19, 26 

Point, Rev., 74 

Politics. 91 

Polk, President, 45 

Portland Genl. Electric Co.. 

Ill 
Portland, 87, 105, 165, 211 
Princess Charlotte Island, 

132 
Prefontaine. Rev., 174 
Presbyterian, 11 
Propaganda, Congregation of, 

132, 161 
Protestant Ladder, 41, 201 
Protestant Missionaries, 9 
Provencher, Bishop, 26, 28, 

37 
Providence, Sisters of, 169, 

173, 217 
Provincial Council, 155 
Provisional Government, 12, 

92, 94 
Puget Sound, 44 
Purcell, Archbishop, 138 

Quebec, 18, 25 

Quebec, Archbishop of, 158 

Ravalli. Rev.. 75, 101 

Red River, 25, 149 

Red River. Vicariate, 26, 31 

Renilda, Sister, 129 

Rockv Mountains Discovered, 

25 
Rocky Mountain Mission, 73", 

76 
Rodgers, Lieut., 147 
Rogue River, 168, 179 
Rome. 132 
Russian Possessions. 31 



Pacific Fur Co., 1 
Palladino, Rev., 62 
Pallium Conferred. 221 
Pambrun Pierre. 32, 69 
Pandosy, Rev.. 209 
Paraguav. Missions, 76 
Parker, Rev., 9, 61 
Paris. 133 
Pembina, 26 
Pend d'Oreille. Lake, SO 

Indians, 66. 75 
Perry, Mrs., 52 
Peru, 126, 162 



Saint Amant, 160 

Salem, 117, 120. 172. 175, 187 

San Francisco, 46 

Santiam, 175 

Saskatchewan, 25 

Scotland. 3 

Seattle, 18, 44, 81, 158 

Seghers, Archbishop, 218 

Selkirk, Earl. 26 

Senate Executive Document, 

208 
Shoshone Indians. 64 
Signa>'. Archbishop, 28 



236 



INDEX 



Siletz Indian Reservation, 

204 
Simpson, Gov., 29, 56 
Snake Indtians. 64 
Snowden (quoted), 81, 99, 153 
South America, 76, 161, 190 
South Pass, 64 
Sovereigns Receive Blanchet, 

134 
Spalding-, Mrs. H. H., 201 
Spalding, Rev. H. H., 10, 70, 

142, 149, 153 
Spanish Missionaries, 44 
Spokane, 83, 174 
Staats, Stephen, 53 
St. Anne, Sisters of, 157, 169 
St. Boniface, 26 
Steilacoom, 174 
Stevensville, Montana, 74 
St. Frances Xavier, Mission, 

87 
St. Joseph College, 18, 123, 

129 
St. Lawrence Gulf, 17 
St. Louis, Mo., 60, 69 
St. I>ouis, Oregon, 136 
St. Mary's Academy, 170 
St. Mary's Mission, 74 
St. Michael's College, 216 
St. Paul, 13, 37, 127, 159, 171 
Stuart, Fort, 89, 90 
St. Vincent's Hospital, 174, 

217 
Superior, Lake, 25 

Tacoma. 174 

Temperance Society, 43 

Teton's Pass, 66 

The Dalles, 47, 49, 157, 173, 

201 
Thurston, Delegate, 113 
Townsend (Naturalist), 43 
Tyler, President, 150 

Umatilla, 157. 206 
Umpqua Valley, 168. 178, 181 
Union Pacific Rv., 214 
University of St. Louis, 102 



Vancouver Island, 218 
Vancouver, Fort, 4, 35, 105, 

173 
Vancouver Island, Diocese 

of, 155 
Vatican Council, 214 
Vercruisse, Rev., 135 
Vavasour, Lieut., 54, 107 
Vermeesch, Rev. T., 172 
Veyret, Rev., 133 
Victoria. 90, 105, 156 
Vienna, 133 

Wailatpu, 108, 141 

Walla Walla, 32, 137, 143, 

158 
Waller, Alvin, 12, 112 
Wallula, 32 
Warm Spring Reservation, 

202 
Warre, Capt., 54, 107 
Wasco Indians, 202 
T\^ashington, D. C, 150 
Watt, Joseph, 51 
Webster, Daniel, 150, 151 
■W'estport, Mo., 64 
Wheat Seed, 49 
Whidbey Island, 39, 44 
White Man's Book of Heav- 
en, 70, 71 
Whitman, Dr.. 61, 108 

Arrives in Oregon, 10 

Among Cayuse, 32 

Massacred, 142 

Midwinter Ride, 142 

Myth. 148, 208 
Whitman, Mrs.. 78 
Wilkes, Commodore, 44, 94, 

97 
Willamette, 4 
Wyeth. Nathaniel, 6. 7, 9, 

69, 73 

Yakima Indians, 103, 206 
Yankee, 109 

Yerba Buena (San Fran- 
cisco), 46 
Young, Ewing, 93 



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